Two Tourists Die at Ubud Monkey Forest

Gusts of strong winds and tree roots poorly grounded in rain-saturated soil caused at least three trees located on the south side of the Prajapati Temple at Ubud’s Monkey Forest to fall on Tuesday, 10 December 2024, at 12:25 pm, killing two and injuring others visiting the iconic tourist attraction.

As reported by Balipost.com, the Chief of the Ubud Police Precinct, Police Commissioner Nyoman Sudarsana, immediately dispatched officers to the Monkey Forest to assist the casualties and supervise clearing the fallen trees.

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Police coordinated the evacuation of visitors from the Monkey Forest following the incident and the installation of police lines around the accident scene.

The falling trees killed two foreign female tourists: Funny Justine Christine (32) of France and Kim Hyoeun (42) from South Korea. Another female tourist, Lee Sunni (45) from South Korea, was seriously injured and hospitalized at the Kenak Medika Hospital in Ubud.

Nyoman Lilir, manager of the Monkey Forest Public Attraction, told police that he was inspecting the popular monkey forest site during heavy winds and torrential rains when he heard the sound of falling trees.

Responding to the crashing sound, Lilir discovered that a Beringin Tree (Banyan Tree- Ficus Benghalensis), a Pule tree (Pulai Tree – Alstonia Angustiloba), and Kresek Tree (Deciduous fig-Ficus Superba) standing near the south side of the Prjapati Temple had all fallen. The monkey forest was crowded with visitors at the time of the incident, resulting in people being struck by the falling trees.

The Ubud Monkey Forest covers an area of 12.5 hectares and is home to 117 species of plants. The sacred forest is also home to over 1260 long-tailed macaque monkeys. The location’s role as a holy site and monkey forest traces back in historical records to the 14th century.