Who was Glacier Bro? Wang Xiangjun's body found months after he slipped and fell into icy waters in viral video
Months after a social media influencer's waterfall accident was caught on camera, police believe his body has finally been found. The viral video showed Wang Xiangjun, who went by the nickname "Glacier Bro," lose his balance and fall into the icy waters below before his friends tried to rescue him.
Police believe they have finally found his body. He had been missing since December 20, 2020, following his fateful fall, reported the South China Morning Post.
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Who is Glacier Bro?
Wang Xiangjun's online moniker as an influencer was Glacier Bro. He was a Chinese environmentalist who fell into the icy waters of the Tibetan glacier while filming a video. Wang had reportedly left his life as a factory worker to travel across the country of China. He wanted to document the impact of climate change on glaciers, reported the Morning Post. He had almost 6 million followers on the Chinese versions of TikTok, the apps Douyin and Kuaishou.
Having grown up in a rural farming community in China, Wang had started taking photos of glaciers in 2013 and had photographed 70 different glaciers. Wang had also recently spoken at the UN Climate Change Conference about melting glaciers. “Almost all the glaciers I visited looked different from the images on my phone,” Wang said. “You need to stand in front of the glaciers to realize how fast they are melting," he had said, reported BBC.
Glacier Bro fell into icy waters
In the video, right after Wang slips off a glacier and falls to his imminent death, his friends immediately rush to the edge. However, they are too late to save their 30-year-old friend, ultimately unable to pull him up, successfully. Wang's friends received severe social media flak for not being able to save him.
Local outlet Apple Daily shared that Wang's down jacket was heavy enough to have dragged them all into the swift-flowing river. However, the rest of them were able to make it to the solid ground, without Wang. At the time of the incident, rescuers had said that it was "almost impossible" for the influencer to have survived, and Wang was presumed dead.
Glacier chaser Wang Xiangjun “is forever resting at his favorite waterfall,” his brother said after the Chinese adventurer went missing following a fateful slip.
— Apple Daily HK 蘋果日報 (@appledaily_hk) December 30, 2020
Read more: https://t.co/pRvRfv1ox7#AppleDailyENG pic.twitter.com/OVDWvXiZRd
In the wake of the ongoing rescue missions, a local official told Global Times, “He could be under an ice floe. The water is 10 to 20 meters [32 to 65 feet] deep. It’s almost impossible [for him to survive].” The official said Wang likely fell in an area where the ice isn’t thick enough to stand on, whereas some parts of the river had thicker ice that could have withstood a person's weight.
Glacier Bro's body discovered
After Wang was presumed dead, his brother logged in to one of his social media accounts and posted: "My brother is staying in his favorite waterfall. I hope you won’t go there and make a fuss, please respect the dead. He has been obsessed with glaciers all his life, and dedicated his life to it. That’s his best place to be."
Local police sent out news of Wang's body finally being discovered, over a statement on WeChat. Revealing a body had been found on Sunday, March 14. "After initial investigations, the body seems to be that of missing person Wang Xiangjun. We are in the process of further identifying the body according to legal procedures," it said.