A hiker has died after falling almost 500ft from a rock formation in Brazil moments after posing for a photograph at the summit of a mountain trail, with the horrifying moment captured on camera by a member of his own hiking group.
Caio Rocha Aguiar Arrabal, 44, plunged from the cliff edge after climbing onto the rock formation at the top of the trail to take a photo on 28 June. Footage filmed by a woman in his group shows him standing precariously in a narrow gap on the rock before beginning his descent backwards, then turning to face forward as he looked out over the mountain’s edge. The woman can be heard warning him to be careful moments before he lost his footing and slid down the cliffside, with onlookers screaming as he fell.
Military Police confirmed he fell from a height of 492ft. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 11.40am and launched a search operation across difficult, densely forested terrain. Firefighters and Civil Defence teams worked for around four hours to reach the location, relying on rope systems and aerial support due to limited access to the site.
Rescue instructor Matheus Moura, who assisted in the operation, described the recovery as complex given the dense forest and steep ground, with teams forced to climb and use rope ascents to reach Mr Arrabal’s body, who had already died by the time he was located. Moura said visitors commonly climbed the rock for photographs and that the incident was not the first of its kind in the area. He noted that Mr Arrabal had descended the rock via the wrong side before the fatal fall, and confirmed that the trail lacks any directional or warning signage along its route.
Mr Arrabal had been guiding a group of visitors from Araruama along the hiking route in Marica, and it was reportedly his first time on the trail.
The tragedy marks the second fatal hiking accident in the municipality of Marica in less than two weeks. On 14 June, 59-year-old Rosemary Garcia fell 100ft to her death at a zip-line park near the Spar Cave while taking part in a group activity with around 15 people. Witnesses said she was fully equipped with safety gear, including a helmet and gloves, but lost her balance while lifting her leg to apply insect repellent on a steep trail leading to a rappelling point. That incident came just one day before a 21-year-old woman died in a separate bungee jump accident in Limeira, Brazil.
