Australian Woman Dies After Falling From Cliff at Bali's Kelingking Beach

An Australian woman has died after falling from a cliff at a popular tourist beach near Bali, Indonesia.

Brianna Cronin, 29, an ecologist from Queensland, was found stranded on the side of a cliff at Kelingking Beach on the island of Nusa Penida in the east of Bali on Saturday morning, local time.

The incident was first reported by an island resident, prompting tourists nearby to alert lifeguards, and emergency services were sent to the scene.

Cronin fell before they could reach her.

Nusa Penida's alert unit coordinator, Cakra Negara, said Cronin had been looking for a route to the cliff's edge when she slipped.

"According to information from the field, the victim is estimated to have fallen around 9am," he said. "At that time, the victim was looking for an independent route to the edge of the cliff before slipping and falling into the ravine."

Klungkung Police official, Iptu I Dewa Nyoman Alit Purnawibawa, said Cronin's body was found on the beach, the Bali Times reported. Police told the newspaper that by the time she reached the shore below, "the victim had already deceased".

A medical examination found she had suffered multiple fractures and other injuries caused by the rocks along the cliff face. She was secured onto a stretcher to facilitate her evacuation.

An evacuation by sea was ruled out because of high tides at the beach, so Cronin's body was instead carried back up the cliff's steep, narrow stairs by rescuers and bystanders working together, in an operation lasting around an hour and a half.

Footage shared by the local search and rescue agency, Basarnas Bali, showed rescue workers and members of the public helping to bring her body up the difficult path. She was later examined at Griya Medica Clinic on Nusa Penida.

Queensland's premier, David Crisafulli, said Cronin's death had shaken the state.

"A young woman on the trip of a lifetime, active, enjoying herself, and to have her life taken away in a heartbeat like that, it's just incredibly, incredibly sad," he said on Sunday.

“I just express my sympathies to her family and those loved ones with her and back at home. I think all of Queensland collectively looks at that and just feels it, wakes up to just a huge degree of sorrow."

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to Cronin's family.

"We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment," a spokesperson said. "The family have requested privacy at this difficult time."

Kelingking Beach, sometimes called T-Rex Bay for the shape of the cliffs that frame it, sits on the coast of Nusa Penida, around 20km south-east of Bali. It is one of the island's most visited attractions, drawing crowds for the panoramic views from its 180-metre coastal cliff, and swimming there is banned year-round because of dangerous currents.

The trail down to the beach, which leads to a hidden stretch of shore in Bunga Mekar village, is rated a difficult hike of around 1.12km that can take up to an hour, according to AllTrails.

The site has drawn wider attention over a proposed 182m glass lift intended to carry tourists down to the beach without the steep walk.

The elevator, which would have included viewing platforms and supports embedded into the cliff face, was billed by its backers as a way to boost tourism by sparing visitors the steep descent, but construction began without the correct permits and prompted swift objections from local politicians and visitors concerned about its impact on the site's natural setting.

Bali's governor ordered the structure demolished within six months, but its Chinese investor remains locked in a legal dispute with the local government, and a partially built metal frame still stands on the cliff face.