'Be cautious when taking selfies': Woman taking photos plunges to death at US waterfall
Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay State Park in South Lake Tahoe, California. Source: North Tahoe Fire Protection District
A US woman who was taking photos has plunged to her death down a Northern California waterfall after she slipped.
A woman has plunged to her death down a Northern California waterfall after she slipped and lost her footing while taking photos.
The North Tahoe Fire Protection District said in a statement that the woman died on Friday at Eagle Falls.
The district said her death is "a sad reminder to be cautious when taking selfies and other photos in dangerous areas".
Fire district spokeswoman Erin Holland said on Saturday that witnesses reported the young woman was too close to the edge.
Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay State Park.
North Tahoe Fire Protection District
There was no guardrail blocking access to the area.
A 2018 study of news reports, in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, showed that between October 2011 to November 2017, there were 259 selfie deaths in 137 incidents reported globally, with the highest occurrences in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan.
Ms Holland said very cold water feeding the waterfall is moving extremely fast because of snowmelt from record snowfall in the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains.
Water cascades 45 metres from the waterfall overlooking Lake Tahoe.
The woman was not identified.
