Body of HK woman who died in volcano to be flown home
The body of a Hong Kong woman who plunged to her death in an active volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be flown home.
Cecilia Cheng Siu-yan was confirmed dead by UN troops on July 7 after they mounted a hazardous mission to retrieve her from Mount Nyiragongo in remote Virunga National Park.
The 33-year old fell into the volcano after she clambered over the rim to take photographs of the molten lava, against the advice of park guards, and landed on a ledge 200 metres below, according to Monuc, the UN mission in the country.
Her body was trapped on the ledge for more than 24 hours before rescuers retrieved it. Kemal Saiki, Monuc's media relations director, said she had died in the fall.
Cheng's body was taken to a UN hospital in the town of Goma, 19km from Mount Nyiragongo, last Sunday.
The Chinese embassy in Kinshasa was to send counsellor Yu Qiuzhong to the area early last week to discuss arrangements with local authorities.
Before he left, Mr Yu said Hong Kong immigration officials had told him it was the original wish of Cheng's family that she be cremated in the country.
Mr Yu said yesterday the embassy had been unable to arrange a cremation and the body was still at the hospital in Goma.
'We can't find the facilities to cremate the body,' he said. 'The body is currently frozen in the hospital and we will [take] the body back to Hong Kong later.'
He did not know the reasons for the delay or when the move would take place.
'Ms Cheng's family have changed their minds and they want us to bring back the whole body to Hong Kong,' Mr Yu said. 'We know Ms Cheng's family will not come here, for sure.'
He did not know whether an inquest would be held into the death.
Mr Saiki said the troops had also retrieved Cheng's rucksack from the volcano and examined its contents, which included her passport. Other belongings had been found in her hotel room in Goma.
Cheng's passport revealed she had travelled from Ethiopia, obtained her visa for the Democratic Republic of Congo in Uganda and also visited Rwanda before crossing the border into the national park.
