Eyewitness describes harrowing moment woman plunged 50 metres to her death from a scenic waterfall ‘in front of her children’ on Mother’s Day
- The mother, 58, was at the pool with her two kids and her daughter’s boyfriend
- She slipped in the natural infinity pool and was knocked out, before she plunged
- A witness saw her lifeless body float downstream at the bottom of the 50m drop
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Tragic scenes have unfolded at a famous waterfall after a woman who was celebrating Mother’s Day with her children plunged 50m to her death.
The 58-year-old was crossing Windin Falls in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at about 1pm on Sunday when she slipped in the natural infinity pool and was knocked unconscious.
Witness Blake Thomas told Daily Mail Australia that he saw her limp body getting knocked around in the whitewater.
‘She was in a pool, getting pushed back and forth … the water was like rapids. It took her and threw her off the cliff,’ the 25-year-old said.
The 58-year-old mother (not pictured) was crossing Windin Falls in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at about 1pm on Sunday when she slipped
Mr Thomas said the mother, who was at the tourist hotspot with her two children and her daughter’s boyfriend, fell for a few seconds before she hit the water below.
‘I saw her floating ages away at the end and watched the rescue helicopter retrieve her. Very eerie,’ he said.
A fellow walker called police but it took a rescue helicopter, officers on foot and a drones three hours to find her body at 4pm.
Mr Thomas said the woman was not trying to get in the pool when she slipped because the water was so rough after days of torrential rain.
Horrified onlookers blocked the entrance to the pool to ensure others hoping to catch a glimpse of the picturesque site didn’t interfere with the rescue operation.
The 90-minute trek to the waterfall is only accessible through the Old Cairns Track in the Wooroonooran National Park.
Mr Thomas said there needs to be more warnings at the site, ‘or at least a safety rope or bars’. Windin Falls pictured
A witness who saw her fall from the cliff said the water in the infinite pool was rough on Sunday (stock image)
‘Exercise extreme caution and stay back from the edges,’ the Tourism Tropical North Queensland website warns.
‘There is a natural infinity pool at the top of the falls that drops deep into the valley below.’
Mr Thomas said there needs to be more warnings at the site ‘or at least a safety rope or bars’.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.