Australian woman dies after falling while taking a photo at 262-foot cliff

A woman in Australia tragically fell to her death on Saturday after attempting to take a photo at a dangerous cliffside location.

Rosy Loomba, 38, was with her husband and child when the tragic incident occurred at Grampians National Park in Victoria, Australia. According to Dinogo affiliate Nine News, the family was at Boroka Lookout, an overhang offering sweeping views of the mountains and town below.

Authorities reported that Loomba climbed past safety barriers and ignored warning signs to pose on a rock for a photo, when she lost her balance and fell over the edge, plummeting more than 80 meters (262 feet) down the cliff face, as detailed by Nine News.

Onlookers heard Loomba's screams but were unable to assist. Emergency responders, including police and state services, spent six hours climbing the cliff to recover her body.

The viewing platform remained closed throughout the afternoon while authorities worked on the recovery, but it was reopened to the public by 10 p.m.

The lookout is a popular spot for photos; a quick search of the location on Instagram reveals numerous images of people sitting on the cliff edge, dangling their legs, or perched on a narrow rock. Some even filmed themselves performing backflips near the precipice.

Local tour guide Graham Wood told Nine News that he had just warned his group about the dangers of the lookout half an hour before Loomba’s fall. 'I told them that people climb over the barriers all the time,' he said. 'I said, one day, someone’s going to fall. It’s sad that it’s happened.'

In the wake of the incident, officials urged the public to respect safety signs and guidelines, emphasizing that no photograph is worth risking a life.

'We can’t put barriers everywhere in Victoria,' stated Police Minister Lisa Neville. 'People need to take responsibility for their own safety.'

Prior to the pandemic disrupting global travel, popular destinations from Kyoto to the Czech Republic had to implement photo bans because of the dangerous behavior of tourists.