A Sydney-based teaching student from Singapore died after she slipped and fell off a cliff while hiking in the Blue Mountains in Australia.
Cheng Shi Min, known as "Angel", slipped and fell about 20 metres down the Empress Falls in the Blue Mountains National Park on Tuesday afternoon. She was hiking along with her father and boyfriend. This incident took place around 1:30 pm Sydney local time.
Cheng's boyfriend Henry Yendle told the Australian media that he and Cheng's father immediately rushed down and found her lying face-down in the water.
Yendle told the Sydney Morning Herald: "Essentially she was looking over the edge of the top of the falls up there, and she slipped down. First I sort of just heard a scream and then a loud bang." He said they tried pulling her out of the freezing waters for 20 minutes.
The rescue crew, including an emergency doctor, reached the falls about 2pm and treated Cheng for severe head and chest injuries. They placed her in a coma and spent several hours trying to stabilise her.
The Australian Associated Press reported that it took an hour for the rescue team to arrive and several extra hours to carry her out on a stretcher, as there was strong wind which prevented a helicopter evacuation.
Cheng was then taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition but she died from her injuries early on Wednesday morning.
Empress Falls in the Valley of the Waters is a popular spot with bushwalkers and canyoners. The falls drop 30 metres into a deep water hole, where people often swim. According to a series of photographs from Cheng's Facebook page, it is seen that she had previously visited the area alone in January 2015.
The police are preparing a report for the coroner.
