An American tourist did not survive after falling into a waterfall in Oregon. A 20-year-old Silver Falls park visitor fell 177 feet (54 m) while trying to pose for photographs, local police said.
The incident occurred on Monday, August 10. The tourist was identified as 20-year-old Zachary Nicholas Mertens, who came from Kentucky to admire the beauty. There are ten waterfalls in the Oregon park.
As noted by the police, Mertens was trying to take a photo in a fenced area where access to park visitors is prohibited. He fell from the highest point of South Falls after climbing over a fence and crossing a creek in hopes of getting a better photo.
One of the other tourists tried to resuscitate the young man to no avail, USA Today adds. Arriving doctors pronounced Mertens dead on the spot. Officials at the park, which is the state's most visited, called the incident “horrifying.”
Earlier on August 1, a 19-year-old tourist from neighboring Washington state died at another waterfall in Oregon in the Columbia River Canyon. The young man fell to his death from a lower height – about 80 feet (24 m) – while trying to scale the cliff.
The US Forest Service and local park officials in Oregon urge you to follow designated, posted safe trails near the falls.
Attempting to climb rocky cliffs outside of paths always risks falling due to the presence of moisture, moss and other slipping factors. Moreover, the authorities do not recommend jumping into waterfalls, since logs, stones and other objects that can easily break are hidden under the water.
“You can't know for sure how any photos were taken or what additional equipment was used,” Oregon Park Service spokeswoman Lauren Wirtis told local radio station KXL.
