A daredevil adventurer often called “The Spider-Man of Yemen” has died after falling right into a volcano crater while attempting to climb vertical rock faces without safety equipment, authorities said.
Al-Qaqa Ibn Antar, 30, was climbing the steep partitions of the Hardah Dam volcanic crater within the southern province of Dhale on Friday when he lost his grip and fell into the 120 metre (393 feet) crater, in response to the Civil Defense Authority, which posted a brief video capturing the moment of his fall.
The ten-second video shows Antar climbing a rocky cliff with none safety equipment. On the cliff he’s scaling names in Arabic have been written in white across the rocky wall. He’s then seen holding the cliff along with his right hand, along with his left hand within the air, before he appears to lose his right grip and falls.
Rescue teams, including diving and water specialists, were sent to retrieve Antar’s body, which was found by divers at a depth of 30 metres (100 feet) below the water surface. The four-hour search and rescue operation was described by the authority as “complex” attributable to the steep and rocky location which made access difficult.
The Hardah Dam — known also because the Haradhat Damt — is a novel volcanic crater positioned near town of Damt, in Yemen’s southern Dahle province. A landmark of the region, the crater has steep rocky partitions with a hot sulfurous lake at its base.
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Antar had gained fame on social media platforms where he posted videos showing him performing high-risk ascents of a few of Yemen’s most rugged terrain. His videos often went viral. In one in all them he was seen hanging from the sting of a rocky cliff using his bare hands, his legs dangling toward a steep slope in a dangerous performance without safety equipment.
The Civil Defense Authority has urged those that climb and interact in adventure sports to look at safety procedures and issued a warning to make use of “appropriate protective gear to avert similar incidents.”
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