A travel influencer couple tragically drowned together last month in a Japanese river after the wife jumped in to save him.
A family member confirmed the deaths of Tsubasa Ito and wife Teitei in a post on Ito’s Instagram page.
“My older brother and his wife passed away in a drowning accident while climbing a gorge,” Ito’s sister Minami wrote. “I hesitated about posting this on Instagram, but I have received many messages from people asking about their safety and offering my condolences, so I decided to write.”
Ito, 41, from Japan, and Teitei, 35, from China, known as Agu on social media, had become famous for sharing their alpine adventures online.
The globetrotting mountaineers — who had only just tied the knot in February — were scaling a peak in Japan’s Gifu prefecture on June 29 with an unidentified 48-year-old woman when tragedy struck, the South China Morning Post reported.
Ito reportedly fell into a raging river that had risen dramatically due to ferocious rainstorms the day prior.
Teitei is said to have thrown a 300-foot-long rope to her struggling hubby, who was overwhelmed by the current before he could get to safety. In a desperate attempt to save her soulmate, Teitei dove in after him, but was immediately swept away by the raging waters.
The friend subsequently reported the disaster to the authorities, who discovered their bodies downstream several hours later. The pair were rushed to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead from drowning.
The lovebirds were reportedly both wearing lifejackets when they passed away, according to police.
In Ito’s last Instagram post from June 28, the globetrotting duo could be seen rappelling 164 feet down a Sotomo, an eroded sea cave in Japan’s Obama Bay.
Friends and fans were devastated over the couple’s loss.
“I was always looking forward to your posts,” wrote one crestfallen viewer. “I am shocked by this sudden event…I pray for your soul to rest in peace…”
“I always enjoyed looking at Tsubasa’s photos,” said another. “I admired his always challenging and wonderful mountaineering. I was looking forward to seeing more photos of the beautiful mountains and streams, so I am very sad.”
A third wrote, “I climbed countless times with Tsubasa. I helped him and he helped me. I learned a lot from his spirituality, not to mention his mountaineering skills.”
“We both really loved mountains,” they added. “We were both unsatisfied unless we were sprinting at full speed, so maybe this was bound to happen someday. But it’s too early… Rest.”
Minami also paid tribute to the couple in another Instagram post, writing, “My brother and [Teitei] should be climbing a mountain in heaven together.”
