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Bodies of 2 Puncak Jaya climbers flown back to Jakarta
The bodies of climbers Elsa Laksono and Lilie Wijayanti Poegiono have been flown back to Jakarta after the school friends perished on Saturday during their descent from Puncak Jaya, one of the fabled "Seven Summits" of Indonesia, after installing a memorial plaque for another friend who died during his attempt last year.
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The Jayawijaya mountain range in Papua, home to Oceania’s highest peak Puncak Jaya, also known as Carstensz Pyramid, rises between two cloud layers in an undated stock photo. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he bodies of female climbers Elsa Laksono and Lilie Wijayanti Poegiono, both 59, who died on Saturday due to acute mountain sickness on while descending Puncak Jaya in Mimika, Central Papua, were flown to Jakarta on Monday.
Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Billyandha Hildiario Budiman said Elsa and Lilie’s bodies were transported aboard a Boeing 737-900ER operated by Lion Air from Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten, kompas.com reported.
Billyandha said Elsa’s body was evacuated on Sunday morning and Lilie’s body was evacuated on Monday morning, both to Mimika General Regional Hospital for washing before they were flown to Jakarta, accompanied by two friends and a representative from adventure operator PT Tropis Cartenz Jaya.
Elsa and Lilie were descending the 4,884-meter mountain with several other climbers on Friday when the weather worsened, bringing snow and high winds.
Also known as Carstensz Pyramid, Puncak Jaya is located in the Jiwawijaya Mountains and is “one of the few tropical or equatorial mountains in the world with glaciers”, according to National Geographic. It is the highest peak in Oceania and the world’s highest island peak.
The two climbers were school friends and graduates of St. Albertus Catholic Senior High School in Malang, East Java. The pair had set out to climb the Seven Summits of Indonesia, referring to the highest peaks on each major island, and Puncak Jaya was their last peak to achieve the feat.
Elsa and Lilie also had another mission: to install a plaque to commemorate their schoolmate Hanafi Tanoto, who died while climbing the very same peak last year, which they accomplished before starting their descent.
