A British tourist fell to her death while posing for a photograph on the edge of a cliff at a popular tourist spot in Australia last year, an inquest has heard.
The inquest into the death of Zoe Woolmer, 23, opened on Monday in Alice Springs, near the site of her death at Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory.
The coroner heard that Woolmer was on a guided tour of Kings Canyon with The Rock Tour, a large company running excursions in the area, when she fell from a ledge above a 30-metre drop while attempting to pose for a photograph on 15 June 2014.
The ledge where Woolmer fell is often used by sightseers as a location for photographs, in which they look as if they are hanging from the edge of the cliff.
Woolmer died at the scene from multiple injuries after falling from the ledge, the inquest heard.
Witnesses told the inquest that The Rock Tour guides encouraged tourists to climb down on to a ledge at the canyon to pose for photographs and even demonstrated to the tour group how to climb down and pose there.
Photographs also emerged on The Rock Tour’s company Facebook page and those of individual tour guides from the company, showing tourists standing on the ledge where Woolmer died and guides posing on the cliff edge.
Kelvin Currie, counsel assisting the coroner, said one witness had given evidence that Woolmer was trying to reach the ledge to pose for the photograph when she fell. She sat on the edge of the cliff and then rolled on to her stomach, but her foot did not reach the ledge and she “stepped on air”, reported the ABC.
The inquest heard that Woolmer fell backwards on to a rocky protrusion below and then fell a further 15 metres on to rocks. She suffered skull fractures leading to bleeding on the brain, a broken back, fractured pelvis, sternum and shoulder blade. CPR was performed for more than 20 minutes, but she died at the scene.
Woolmer was from Hertfordshire and studied human resources at the University of Portsmouth. She had been travelling around Australia for a year before visiting Kings Canyon.
Woolmer’s family have travelled to Australia for the inquest, which is scheduled to last for three days.
