Tourist Dies After Falling From Thailand Waterfall While Attempting Selfie

The French tourist was said to have ignored warning signs to attempt the selfie.

waterfall
Getty

Image via Getty/Sergei Dolzhenko/500px

waterfall

A tourist has died after attempting to capture a selfie at a popular waterfall destination in Thailand.

Per CNN, the tourist—a 33-year-old man from France—died Thursday after slipping and falling from the Na Mueang 2 waterfall on the Koh Samui island. According to his friend, the fall occurred while the man was trying to take a selfie at the site.

A French tourist has died after falling from a waterfall while trying to take a selfie in Thailand, police sayhttps://t.co/YJCKU28f4g pic.twitter.com/9kHxwU4QcU

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 15, 2019

"His friend said he was trying to take a selfie and then he slipped and fell," island tourist police Lieutenant Phuvadol Viriyavarangkul told the AFP news agency, adding that the area in question is separated by a rep and boasts a sign warning visitors against the potential dangers. The lieutenant also explained that it "took several hours to retrieve his body" due to the area being "slippery and steep."

A separate report from The Independentidentified the 33-year-old tourist as Bastien Palmier. His friend, identified in the report as Thomas Mechin, said Palmier had ignored the warning sign and declined to heed his own personal warnings to "stay away" from the area.

"Tourists should not enter the prohibited area, as the park officers have closed it off for the safety of visitors," Lieutenant Viriyavarangkul reiterated.

Back in July, a 26-year-old Spanish tourist died at the same waterfall. 

Latest in Life