Chilling video showing final seconds of woman’s death handed to investigating police
A video capturing the final moments of a Cairns woman who died after falling 50m from the top of a waterfall in a Mother’s Day tragedy has been handed to investigators.
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A VIDEO capturing the final moments of a Cairns woman who died after falling 50m from the top of a waterfall in a Mother’s Day tragedy has been handed to investigators.
On Sunday, a 58-year-old woman, during a family outing to Windin Falls, lost her footing and was swept downstream by fast-flowing water before going over the falls.
The woman’s body was recovered by the Rescue 510 helicopter about 12pm on Monday.
The Cairns woman was visiting the remote waterfall – in the Wooroonooran National Park, 130km south of Cairns – with her two children and her daughter’s boyfriend.
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The Cairns Post understands the video shows the woman being washed from a point 15m upstream, in an unconscious state, to the point the creek drops off the cliff.
However word of the tragedy has failed to deter visitors bushwalking to the famous natural horizon pool which was reopened by the Department of Environment and Science on Tuesday.
Belgian visitor Ludyvine Stas trekked to the falls in the weeks before the tragedy and said there was water pushing off the cliff powerful enough to sweep someone over.
However, the tragic death on Sunday had not deterred the traveller from going again.
“It’s probably happened before and will happen again. If (being) scared about something where someone died I wouldn’t do anything,” she said.
Cairns Student Lodge general manager Hamish Allardice had been planning a bushwalk at the weekend but weighed options and decided the water volumes at Windin Falls made it too risky for swimming.
“When I went to Mowbray Falls on Saturday we thought there’s way too much water coming over the falls (at Windin) and chose not to go, it was just too risky,” he said.
“It’s too dangerous to go there and when I took the students (to Windin) I made sure they were all safe.”
A DES spokesman confirmed there are warning signs in the area however declined to comment directly on closing the track after heavy rain or the erecting of fences restricting access to the cliff edge
“For public safety, warning signs are located at multiple locations on the track and near the falls, alerting visitors to potential hazards of slippery rocks and strong currents,” he said.
“Visitors are reminded to take care at this site and when swimming in all natural waterholes.”
Queensland Police said the woman’s death was being treated as non-suspicious and officers are preparing a report for the coroner.
Originally published as Chilling video showing final seconds of woman’s death handed to investigating police
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