Who was Gigi Wu? 'Bikini hiker' freezes to death after falling 65ft during trek

A Taiwanese hiker and a popular social media figure, Gigi Wu, died a tragic death after falling into a 65-feet deep gorge during a solo trek.

The 36-year-old was better known as the 'bikini hiker' for posing in bikini at the summits she had conquered and posting photos on social media.

The tragic incident happened at Yushan Mountain in Taiwan when she was on a 25-day solo trek. Wu froze to death after falling into the narrow ravine.

Wu was an experienced hiker and appeared to have been using proper equipment and precautions during her climbing expeditions. She was unable to move after the fall as she had injured her legs due to the deep impact of the 20-metre plunge.

Wu was eight days into a solo hike when she died. Despite her many calls for help, she could not be saved by the emergency services due to bad weather, reports People magazine.

Her body was found on Monday, nearly 28 hours after the incident. By then temperatures had been around freezing point. Wu's body was airlifted by the rescuers from the location of her distress beacon, officials told the media.

The National Airborne Service Corps stated that attempts were made to dispatch Black Hawk rescue helicopters to her location on three occasions, but they were unable to take off due to the extreme weather. 

Commander Lin Cheng-I, who heads up the Nantou County Fire Department's Third Squadron, revealed that Wu's distress beacon was activated at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level, where night-time temperatures can reach 2 degrees Celsius, reported Sputnik International.

In an interview to Focus Taiwan, Wu had earlier said that she first got the idea of posting bikini photos after losing a bet to a friend.

Wu's social media pages have a huge fan following and her fans are saddened after the news of her death.

A number of her followers expressed their condolences in the comments section of her photos, applauding her for having been an inspiration to the hiking community.