Young woman plummets 50 metres off Aussie cliff while taking selfie

A young woman has plummeted 50 metres off the side of a cliff while trying to take a selfie at a popular lookout on Phillip Island in Victoria.

The woman, believed to be in her 20s, fell near the Pinnacles Lookout at Cape Woolamai just after 12pm on Saturday, and “was stuck for some time with injuries to her back and upper body,” Ambulance Victoria told Yahoo News Australia.

A photo posted on social media by stunned witnesses also visiting the busy surfing spot show a rescue helicopter hovering in the area before winching the woman to safety. She was flown to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne in stable condition.

'Gravity is a one-way trip'

Despite the steep drop, the woman, who was with two friends at the time, luckily avoided life-threatening injuries, police said.

“She’s in hospital now, they’re not fatal injuries but they’re still pretty serious,” Bass Coast Acting Police Inspector Dave Fyfe told the ABC. She reportedly suffered multiple fractures.

“I don’t mean to make light of what happened to her, but I’m certainly hoping the lady makes a full recovery. The fact is, physics doesn’t come with a selfie clause and gravity is a one-way trip.”

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Visitors veer off Cape Woolamai track

Inspector Fyfe revealed the young woman had veered off the walking trail when she fell. Her two friends were able to climb down the cliff and be by her side until emergency services arrived.

Some locals have since taken to Facebook to urge visitors to please stick to the walking track.

“I’ve told so many people about the danger and get ‘she’ll be right’ or ‘mind your own business’,” one man said.

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