Parents Fall Off Cliff as Kids Snap Picture

Family had lived in Portugal for several years
By Shelley Hazen,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 12, 2014 8:17 AM CDT
Parents Fall Off Cliff as Kids Snap Picture
   (Shutterstock)

A Polish couple visiting Cabo da Roca in Portugal wanted the typical tourist photo of themselves at the end of Europe. So they handed their kids the camera, crossed safety barriers to reach the edge of the cliff—and fell 450 feet to their deaths while their children tried to take the picture, reports the Portugal Resident. "They were traumatized. It is the kind of thing they will never forget," a security guard tells the paper. A Spanish couple witnessed the incident Saturday and pulled the children, aged 5 and 6, from the cliff edge, then alerted local authorities. The children are now receiving counseling and are with Polish diplomats, the Telegraph adds. The bodies of the couple—believed to be in their 40s—were found Sunday; a search for them was delayed Saturday by weather, reports Polskie Radio.

Portuguese authorities are investigating the incident. It’s believed the family used a path between a lighthouse and the cliff edge, leading local fire officials to suggest its removal. "The paths encourage people. Tourists think they must lead somewhere. They climb the fences—not thinking that they have been erected to protect people's lives—and then terrible things like this happen," an official tells the Resident. This incident is just part of a wider trend of dangerous pictures and selfies, the Washington Post adds, including this Indian teen, this man, this bull runner, and these Iranian ladies. (More selfie stories.)

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