Yusran first learned about the danger facing his teenage cousin, Elmi Febrianti, at an Indonesian tourist attraction in South Sulawesi when he got a phone call from a family member who sounded frantic.

Elmi, a 17-year-old Indonesian student, had been at a popular photo spot in Apparalang, Bulukumba Regency, and had fallen into the sea in the afternoon on June 7 while taking a selfie on the picturesque limestone cliffs there.

A friend who was with the teen at the time had called her family members, with one of them quickly reaching out to Yusran on the same day.

Elmi was fighting for her life as giant waves repeatedly hit her. Footage from bystanders later spread online, showing her signalling for help as she struggled.

“I called members of our wider family and told them to get to Apparalang immediately to help,” said Yusran, who uses a single name like many Indonesians.

“But by the time they got here, she had vanished.”