A woman from Kazakhstan was reportedly killed after she fell more than 100 feet off a cliff in Turkey while posing for a photo to celebrate the end of the area’s coronavirus lockdown.
31-year-old Olesia Suspitsina was out hiking with a friend Sunday (Apr. 26) in Duden Park—located in Antalya, Turkey—the same day the government lifted a weeks-long shelter-in-place order.
“We came to the park in the evening, we drank wine,” the unnamed friend explained to News1. “Then we were talking to a friend with a video. When Olesia was talking on video, she asked me to take a picture of herself.”
After Suspitsina climbed over a safety fence in the park and posed for an image in front of the waterfalls, she slipped on the grass, lost her balance and plummeted 115 feet to her death right in front of her friend.
Horrified, her friend immediately called emergency services and Suspitsina’s lifeless body was found and pulled from the water.
The body was taken to the morgue of Antalya Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy, where authorities determined her death was an accident, relatives said.
One grieving relative told the Daily Mail: “Olesya was a smart and cheerful person. She set goals and made them happen.”
Her close friend Olga Kravchuk said: “Olesya always loved the sea and dreamed of living in Turkey. She made her dream come true. More than anything she loved the feeling of freedom. This is an irreparable loss. My heart is broken.”
Olesia had reportedly worked as a tour guide in the city for the last five years.
Her body is scheduled to be transported from Turkey back to her home in Kazakhstan on Saturday (May 2). She’ll be buried in her native city of Kostanay, according to reports.
Prior to the incident, Olesia wrote in a post on Instagram: “I will always admire the beauty of the Turkish nature. This is my paradise.”
According to the Daily Saba, the Düden Waterfalls (pictured above)—located in Turkey’s southern province—sees about 700,000 tourists each year.
Turkey has closed schools, restaurants and cafes in an effort to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Though some workplaces are still open, officials have imposed partial stay-at-home orders and have largely closed borders and slowed domestic movement.
Turkey is ranked 7th globally in confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 120K cases and over 3,000 deaths as of Friday (May 1).
