A Kazakhstan woman reportedly was killed Sunday after plummeting more than 100 feet off a cliff in Turkey while posing for a photo to commemorate the end of the local coronavirus lockdown.
Olesia Suspitsina, 31, had been going for a much-awaited hike in Anatyla’s picturesque Duden Park after weeks of adhering to the citywide shelter-in-place order, according to Sputnik Turkey.
To mark the end of quarantine, the adventurer scaled a safety barrier so her friend could snap her standing on the cliff’s edge with majestic waterfalls in the background, News 1 reports. Her celebratory photo op went south when she slipped on the grass and plunged 115 feet to her death in front of her horrified companion.
The petrified photographer called authorities, who located the Kazakhstan national’s body in the water and identified it, before transporting it to the Antalya Forensic Medicine Institute’s morgue, Sputnik Turkey reports. Police ruled the victim’s death an accident, according to her bereaved relatives.
Suspitsina, who had worked as a tour guide for five years in the region, previously wrote in a now-private Instagram post: “I will always admire the beauty of the Turkish nature. This is my paradise.”
The deceased was described by a grieving relative as “a smart and cheerful person” who “set goals and made them happen,” the Daily Mail reports.
Suspitsina’s numerous friends flocked to social media to mourn her untimely death.
“This is an irreparable loss,” said her heartbroken close friend Olga Kravchuk, adding, “Olesya [sic] always loved the sea and dreamed of living in Turkey. She made her dream come true.”
Strangers also expressed their condolences. “She [Olesia] always said she was happy to live in this city [Anatyla],” said one grieving social media user.
Another posted on her Facebook page: “What a pity for the girl. My deepest condolences to my family and loved ones!”
Suspitsina’s body is slated to return on Saturday to Kazakhstan, where she will be interred in her hometown of Kostanay, according to reports.
Currently, Turkey boasts the seventh-highest number of coronavirus infections in the world with a jaw-dropping 117,589 cases, according to Worldmeter.
Nonetheless, the Turkish government hopes to start reopening the economy by the end of next month. “Recent studies have indicated that a reopening of the economy will be possible at the end of May, and current developments confirmed this,” a senior state official told Reuters. “Steps will be taken to reopen without allowing a second wave.”