Police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have launched an investigation into the death of a U.S. visitor, who is said to have fallen ill while hiking La Soufriere volcano.
The woman, Alicia Zebutis, 24, of Chicago, Illinois was pronounced dead on Thursday, Sept. 15, one day after she and her husband arrived in the country.
Police said that reports are that the woman and her husband — whose name they did not disclose — along with a group of friends went hiking along the La Soufriere Mountain Trail on Thursday.
“At about 4 p.m. … the same day, officers attached to the Georgetown Police Station were informed that a member of the group had collapsed and was in urgent need of medical attention.
“Mrs. Zebutis was transported to the Georgetown Hospital. She was later pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer (DMO),” police said in a press statement.
The statement said that a postmortem examination is expected to be carried out on her body to ascertain the exact cause of death.
La Soufriere, which is 4,048 feet (1,234 metres) high, is a popular tourist attraction.
However, since it erupted in April 2021, the slopes of the volcano are littered with deep ravines that have made it especially difficult to hike.