Woman's warning after spotting teens taking selfies close to 100-metre drop
A Byron Bay woman has captured the moment two young women risked their lives for a selfie, posing dangerously close to the edge of a cliff.
While walking through a popular a Byron Bay National Park in Minyon Falls, the woman was shocked to see two young women, she believed were teenagers, wandering dangerously close to the edge of a waterfall that she estimates to at least 100 meters high as the pair “giggled and laughed”.
The woman, who has asked not to be identified, posted the photo in a local Facebook group to warn others that a selfie is “not worth the risk” and described the situation as “disrespectful”.
“They were trespassing, there are signs everywhere and they ignored them,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
While the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) say there are no records of anyone falling from the spot, they do warn that cliffs and waterfalls can be unpredictable by nature.
“Safety is a priority for NPWS and measures are in place to advise visitors of the risks at this location, which include signs warning visitors of the 100m drop over the cliff,” Public Affairs Officer Felicia Eccles told Yahoo News Australia.
The woman said she removed the original post from social media after the women in the photo contacted her and insisted they “knew what they were doing”.
The truth behind Instagram bloggers who plunged to their deaths taking selfie
Australian dies in couple’s fatal cliff fall while taking selfie in Portugal
She said that if the amateur photographers had fallen she wouldn’t have hesitated to call emergency services as it’s simply “too dangerous” as the waterfall is filled with rocks.
In a statement NPWS also urges visitors to “consider the consequences of their actions, including the risk to their own lives and those of the emergency services who undertake dangerous rescues and retrievals”.
“It really is their parents and emergency services that have to deal with the consequences of this,” the witness warned.
A study released last year showed that the modern obsession with capturing an Instagram-friendly shot in any situation, no matter how dangerous, has cost more than 250 lives in the past six years.
In June 2018, an Australian died after falling from a cliff overlooking a popular Portuguese tourist beach, reportedly while attempting to snap a selfie.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
