3 Yosemite Hikers Presumed Dead After Waterfall Plunge

Three hikers were swept into river one by one before going over falls

(NEWSER) - Witnesses are starting to paint a picture of exactly what happened at Yosemite's Vernal Fall Tuesday when three people, now presumed dead , were swept over . One hiker first saw a man who had crossed the barricade leaning over the waterfall holding a screaming young girl. "I'm yelling at him, 'You SOB, get over here!'" the hiker tells the Los Angeles Times . Those two came back safely, but three others had already crossed over, "taking pictures and being stupid," he says. A park ranger says the three had earlier been seen swimming 25 feet upstream, though signs warn against that practice. More»

Witness reports indicate it may have been suicide

(NEWSER) - A 51-year-old woman was swept over Niagara Falls and died Tuesday, in what may have been a suicide. About 30 witnesses saw the Canadian woman floating by them, "with her eyes closed" but apparently alive, at about 4:30pm, one tells the Toronto Sun . Then "she went past us. She went over the falls." Reuters reports that other tourists saw the woman enter the water at the Niagara River, and that no one saw her struggle to stay alive. More»

(NEWSER) - Waterfalls are a prime tourist destination, and for good reason. Travel + Leisure runs down a list of the “world’s most spectacular,” but check before you go. Visit in the wrong season and you’ll see just a trickle. And dams can turn off the spectacle in a second.

• Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: Even the mist clouds create "a natural spectacle."
• Angel Falls, Venezuela: The "undisputed tallest waterfall in the world" is visible only after a long slog to a viewing point.

65-foot plunge was made famous in 1979 film

(NEWSER) - A teenage rite of passage made popular in a movie claimed a life yesterday when an 18-year-old high school graduate plunged 65 feet to his death into an Indiana quarry pool, ABC reports. The plunge was featured in the 1979 coming-of-age movie Breaking Away and is routinely copied by local youth, despite the best efforts of law enforcement to stop them. More»

Laird Hamilton uses improvised tourniquet to stop partner from bleeding to death

(NEWSER) - Surf champ Laird Hamilton, known for his big-wave talents that have been documented in films, can add lifesaver to his resume. The star wave rider stripped off his shorts to create a makeshift tourniquet that prevented his surf partner from bleeding to death after a wipeout this week opened a large gash in his leg, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. Surfers described storm-fueled waves of historic proportions off the coast of Maui. More»