CairoAP —
A daredevil adventurer known as the “Yemeni Spider-Man” died after falling into a volcanic crater while attempting to scale a vertical rock wall without safety gear, authorities said.
Al Qaqa ibn Antar, 30, was scaling the steep walls of the Harda Dam volcanic crater in southern Dhare province on Friday when he lost his grip and fell into the 120-metre (393-foot) crater, civil defense officials said, posting a short video of the moment he fell.
The 10-second video shows Antar climbing a rocky cliff without any safety equipment. At the top of the cliff he is climbing, his name is written in white in Arabic on the rock wall. He is then seen gripping the cliff with his right hand and raising his left hand into the air, before appearing to lose grip on his right hand and fall.
‘Yemen’s Spider-Man’ dies after falling into volcanic crater
A Yemeni mountaineer known on social media as “Yemeni’s Spider-Man” has died after falling into the crater of a volcano, Yemen’s state news agency Saba News Agency, controlled by the Houthis, said.
A rescue team, including diving and water experts, was dispatched to retrieve Antar’s body, which was found by divers at a depth of 30 meters (100 feet) below the surface. Authorities described the four-hour search and rescue operation as “complicated” due to the steep, rocky terrain that made access difficult.
Kharda Dam, also known as Kharda Damt, is a unique volcanic crater located near the city of Damt in southern Yemen’s Dhare province. A regional landmark, the crater has steep rock walls and a hot sulfur lake at its bottom.
Antar rose to fame on social media platforms after posting videos of himself performing high-risk climbs in Yemen’s most rugged terrain. His videos often went viral. In one of them, he was seen hanging from the edge of a rocky cliff with his bare hands and dangling his legs towards a steep slope without any safety equipment, in a dangerous performance.
Civil defense authorities urged people participating in mountaineering and adventure sports to adhere to safety protocols and issued a warning to wear “appropriate protective equipment to avoid similar accidents.”
