by Jonathan Pearlman Sydney, The Daily Telegraph, February 24, 2016
Man, 25, was visiting notoriously dangerous Josephine Falls with 21-year-old Canadian woman.
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| Photo by Freeimages.com/elaine tan |
A 25-year-old British tourist died after he jumped off a rock ledge to swim at a fast-flowing waterfall in north-east Australia.
The man was visiting Josephine Falls, a picturesque but notoriously dangerous series of tiered waterfalls in the state of Queensland, with a 21-year-old Canadian woman.
The pair leapt from a ledge on Tuesday afternoon and she was able to swim to safety but he resurfaced briefly before disappearing.
His body was found downstream a mile away on Wednesday after an extensive search.
The man is yet to be named. Police said recent heavy rains have caused swift torrents in the waterway.
“There's quite a strong current running with the current wet weather," senior constable Russell Parker told ABC News.
“The female of the party was able to swim to the river bank. The man did resurface [and] attempted to make it to land but appeared to be swept somewhat downstream by that current, and from that point, no one has seen him since then.”
Swimming is allowed at the waterfalls but access to the top of the falls is forbidden for safety reasons . Numerous deaths and rescues have occurred at the site.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner but apparently do not believe there were suspicious circumstances.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are providing support to the family of a British national who has died in Australia.”
This article was written by Jonathan Pearlman Sydney from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
