Chinese woman dies after falling into Congo volcano

KINSHASA, July 7 (Reuters) A Chinese tourist who fell into the crater of a volcano in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has died, a scientist at a local research centre said today.

Cecilia Cheng Siuyan climbed over the crater rim of the Nyiragongo volcano near Congo's border with Rwanda yesterday to take a photo but slipped and fell more than 100 metres before coming to rest on a ledge above the lake of lava.

''She is dead, but they haven't yet been able to remove the body,'' Celestin Kasereka, director of the volcanological observatory in the nearby city of Goma, told Reuters.

Siuyan initially showed signs of life and continued to move after the fall. But rescue efforts yesterday were called off due to poor visibility.

A team of 20 Indian peacekeepers from Congo's UN mission along with volcanologist Jacques Durieux were attempting to retrieve the body.

In 2002, the Nyiragongo volcano sent a river of lava through the centre of Goma killing dozens. It is one of troubled eastern Congo's few tourist attractions.

REUTERS SBC PM2050