Indonesian rescuers have retrieved the body of a German hiker who went missing last week on a dormant volcano in western Indonesia, an official said Friday.
Wolter Klaus, 48, from Odenburg city, was reported missing by his hotel on June 22, a day after he began what should have been a day hike up Mount Sibayak in North Sumatra province.
Search and rescue official Budiawan said Klaus’ body was brought down the mountain Friday in a nearly seven-hour relay operation through rugged, forested terrain and a river.
His father Wildried, wife Fernandez Hazel and younger brother Peter Wolter received the body before it was transferred to a police hospital for an autopsy.
About 150 soldiers, police and volunteers backed by a police helicopter searched for Klaus after he was reported missing, but were hampered by the rugged terrain and bad weather.
His body was discovered Thursday near a waterfall by five university students who were camping on the 2,200-meter (7,200-foot) mountain.
“I can confirm that it is the body of Wolter Klaus,” said Budiawan, who uses a single name.
Hendra, one the five students, said the body was about 20 meters (12 feet) from the waterfall, the left leg seemed to be cut off and there were some wounds on the body.
In 2013, rescuers found a Japanese hiker alive in a ravine four days after he fell from a cliff on Mount Sibayak.
Mount Sibayak is one of about 130 volcanoes in Indonesia. Its last major eruption was in 1881, but its geothermal activity remains high.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.