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Search team scouring Falls bottom
Kaieteur Falls tragedy…
– sets up camp for long haul
A search team has set up camp at the base of the Kaieteur Falls in efforts to locate the body of 23-year old Aliya Bulkan who plunged off the 700 foot cliff last Saturday.
The search team comprising six persons was deployed to the area early yesterday morning and camped the night after making the four-hour trek to the base of the falls.
The search is expected to resume in earnest today and Rustom Bulkan, the father of the missing woman, is expected to join.
Missing: Aliya Bulkan
Aliya Bulkan jumped off the cliff at the side of the Kaieteur Falls and disappeared into the treacherous waters 700 feet below shortly after completing a tour of the area.
This was despite attempts to pull her back by one of the touring party.
This newspaper paper understands that Bulkan and the rest of the touring party were walking behind their guide when she suddenly broke away and ran towards the falls before jumping over the cliff.
Although family members are still hoping that by some miracle she is still alive, the reality of the situation appears otherwise.
Another member of the touring party who was walking next to Aliya Bulkan and who tried to restrain her is so traumatised that she is reportedly experiencing medical complications.
This newspaper understands that the woman, a Korean tourist, vomited all day yesterday and has since checked out of a city hotel.
Speaking with this newspaper last evening, Rustom Bulkan said he was taken to the area by an aircraft owned and operated by his uncle Yacoob Ally of Air Services Limited.
He said that they arranged with the team to search for the missing woman and returned to the city at around 16:00 hrs yesterday.
A boat from Madhia was dispatched to the area to bring out the missing woman should she be found soon.
Bulkan said that he will be going back to the area and is prepared to stay there until his daughter is found.
“Hopefully by tomorrow (today) we will find her,” he told Kaieteur News.
It is believed that Aliya Bulkan is the first person to have jumped from the top of Kaieteur Falls although there are rumours of similar unreported incidents.
While the incident may be unprecedented at Kaieteur Falls, an average of 20 persons commit suicide at the famous Niagra Falls in North America every year.
Officials of Roraima Airways dismissed reports in certain sections of the media which stated that Bulkan ‘fell’ off the cliff.
Captain Gerry Gouviea told this newspaper that the safety measures at the Kaieteur Falls are designed to prevent such accidents.
According to Gouviea, persons traveling to the falls are advised on the nature of the trip before they depart for the destination.
“People are advised what kind of shoes to wear. They are told that they are above 1500 feet and the rocks are slippery and to be careful,” Gouviea said.
He said that there are signs warning persons to keep away from the edges of the cliffs near the falls.
“This girl turned back and made a dash,” Gouviea stated.
He assured that treks to Kaieteur Falls will continue despite Saturday’s tragedy.
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