'Scene of Horror' Follows Tourists' Selfie Attempt

Brit, Australian died in 100-foot fall in Portugal
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2018 10:40 AM CDT
Apparent Selfie-Takers Die in 100-Foot Fall
This 2006 photo shows Fisherman's Beach in Ericeira, Portugal.   (Wikimedia/Paulo Juntas)

A fisherman returning to a Portuguese beach encountered a "scene of horror" early Tuesday: the "unrecognizable" bodies of a tourist couple who appear to have fallen 100 feet to their deaths while trying to take a selfie. Brit Louise Benson, 37, and her Aussie boyfriend, 33-year-old Michael Kearns, were found at Fisherman's Beach in Ericeira at the bottom of a 100-foot wall, on top of which sat a phone, report the Bristol Post and Independent. "Everything seems to indicate that the fall happened when they were probably trying to take a selfie," PerthNow quotes an official as saying. "It seems they dropped their mobile phone and fell down while leaning over to retrieve it."

Local media report witnesses saw the couple, who'd been staying at a local hotel, crossing a safety barrier and sitting on the wall with their legs facing the sea before they toppled from view, per the Independent and PerthNow. A day earlier, Benson and Kearns had shared photos on social media showing them enjoying Fisherman's Beach, with the point from which they would fall visible in the background, per the Sun. They'd departed their home in Australia in January on a lengthy holiday and had recently attended a friend's wedding in Portugal, Kearns' mother tells PerthNow. Portugal's foreign affairs department says it's in contact with the British government and is assisting Kearns' family. (This selfie managed to ID a killer.)

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