Donna D’Errico’s quest to find Noah’s ark was abruptly cut short last week when a photo of the former Baywatch babe appeared on the web, showing a badly cut and bruised face.

D’Errico took a nasty tumble on Turkey’s Mount Ararat, where the Ark is said to be hidden.  While she didn’t suffer any broken bones she did end up with painful and visible injuries.  Yet she continued on with her trip.

But once the photographic evidence of her fall hit the web, her cover was blown and she was forced to cut her trip short due to rebels in the area knowing about her presence there.

Published reports said the former Playboy Playmate was traveling with a documentary film crew but Donna tells RumorFix that is NOT true.

“I want people to know that I did not have a film crew with me that would have endangered my life,” Donna tells RumorFix. “You can fix that rumor!”

She was using a small handheld camera of her own.  She told us that a film crew would have drawn to much attention to her quest and that it would have made it a far more dangerous situation for her with a large group.

Donna is concentrating on documenting her efforts to search for Noah’s Ark and the disappearance of a prominent ark expert on Mt. Ararat in 2010.