TWO foreigners were tragically killed, and another was injured when a tree collapsed at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Bali on Tuesday.
The sanctuary management reported that the incident occurred at around 12.25pm local time, believed to have been caused by a sudden strong gust of wind.
According to Indonesia’ Antara, Gianyar police identified the deceased as Funny Justine Christine, 32, from France, and Kim Hyoeun, 42, from South Korea.
The injured tourist, Lee Sunni, 43, also from South Korea, received treatment at the Monkey Forest Ubud clinic, while the deceased victims were transported to Kenak Medikal Ubud Hospital.
“Two people have died and one has been injured,“ confirmed Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Gianyar Police, Adjunct Commissioner Gananta.
The police are investigating the cause of the tree’s collapse and are working with the Gianyar Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) to clean up the site and the sanctuary has been temporarily closed for further investigation.
Bali police head of public relations Senior Commissioner Jansen Avitus Panjaitan advised both residents and tourists to exercise caution amid challenging weather conditions.
“It is better to avoid traveling during rain or find a safe place to take shelter. People should be vigilant and careful,“ he was quoted as saying.
The Bali Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has placed several districts on alert for potential hydrometeorological disasters, with the rainy season expected to continue from the third week of December 2024 to the fourth week of January 2025.
