Child was walking with parents and two smaller siblings when the accident occurred last week
The 11 -year -old family who died last week after falling off the Fortaleza canyon cliff in Cambará do Sul, made the trail without the help of a guide, confirmed the space concessionaire, Urbia Green Canyons. She was walking with her parents and two smaller brothers when the accident occurred. The family is from Curitiba (PR). As with other Brazilian national parks, the trails of Serra Geral National Park, where Fortaleza canyon is, are self -guided. That is, they do not require hiring a guide for visitation. “Tourists are oriented to adopt the appropriate practices for the activity in the midst of the trails, especially at the edges of canyons. Plates signal the way and warn visitors along the way, the risks and precautions that should be taken,” says Urbia. But on the National Park website, controlled by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), there is a manual of “conscious conduct in natural environments” that recommends hiring guides by those who have no track experience. In the document, the institute reinforces that the visitor is responsible for its safety in this type of environment. “If you have no experience of recreational activities in natural environments, contact us with tour, ecotourism companies or visitor drivers. Inexperienced visitors can have great impacts without realizing and taking unnecessary risks,” the institute says.
“Rescue in natural environments is expensive and complex and can take days and cause great damage to the environment. Therefore, first, do not risk without need,” warns ICMBio. The site is an environmental conservation unit, so it has no primordial tourist character, but allows visitors to access. According to Andrews Mohr, Secretary of Tourism of Cambará do Sul, the girl’s family had stopped to snack near one of the lookouts at the time of the accident. “The girl ran toward the canyon’s cliff. The father tried to run after her, but unfortunately could not save her,” said Mohr. The accident happened around 1 pm last Thursday, 10. At 17h30, with the help of a drone, it was located about 70 meters high from the point of the fall. The firefighters arrived at her around 11 pm, using rappelling technique, and found her already dead. The weather and relief conditions were not favorable for other type of rescue, possibly faster.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Content
