The tourist who fell this morning from a cliff approximately 200 meters high in the Pedra Rija viewpoint area, Pico do Areeiro trail, reportedly lost his balance after leaving the trail to take a photo on a hill. He is a young man, presumably of German origin, who was in the company of three other people.

Meanwhile, it is still not possible to determine the victim’s condition, as the area where he fell is steep and covered with vegetation, and the rescue team is having difficulty reaching the location. “The teams are already on their way to the location, trying to approach the victim, and at the moment, we are still unable to provide an update on the victim’s condition. The drone team has located the victim, and efforts are underway to access the site. We are talking about a location over 200 meters deep, in an operation of great complexity involving rope work. There is a great complexity associated with this operation,” emphasized Valter Ferreira, Deputy Commander of the Regional Civil Protection Service Command.

The alert for this accident was given at 11:38 AM, through a call made by a citizen to the 112 emergency line. 13 personnel and 3 vehicles from the mountain rescue team of the Volunteer Firefighters of Madeira (BVM) were mobilized to the scene, as well as the drone team and the helicopter from the Regional Civil Protection Service. However, the presence of fog made the operation of the latter air vehicle unfeasible.

Meanwhile, in the early afternoon, there was a reinforcement of the operation, with the engagement of a PSP (Public Security Police) team, a team from the GNR’s (National Republican Guard) Special Protection and Relief Unit, and members of the Forest Police Corps. In total, approximately 40 personnel are involved in the operation.

Following this accident, the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN) closed the Vereda do Pico do Areeiro trail.