An overseas tourist was taking selfies moments before he slipped off the edge of a cliff at a popular whale watching spot in Sydney's south.
The 18-year-old was with a large group of friends when he fell up to 30 metres from Cape Solander in Kurnell.
Sutherland Mayor Carmelo Pesce said he had been briefed by senior staff and told that police had recovered a phone with photographs of the teenager taken moments before he fell.
"I've been told that the police have recovered a phone that has photographs on there of the young gentleman taking photos and he was extremely close to the edge of the rock," he said.
Mr Pesce said council lifeguards were alerted to the incident and travelled by jet ski to the area.
A young lifeguard dived about eight metres down to retrieve the unconscious man, before pulling him onto the jetski where he performed CPR before paramedics arrived.
The man was unable to be revived.
"The lifeguard that jumped in, I believe that he is distressed," Mr Pesce said.
Mr Pesce said the incident was "extremely sad" and urged those frequenting the popular clifftop viewing area not to endanger themselves by climbing fences or venturing too close to the edge.
"You're putting your life at risk and why — for a photo? It's not that important."
Visitors warned to take care
This is the second fatal incident at Cape Solander in six weeks, after a man aged in his 30s died in similar circumstances last month.
Mr Pesce said other popular local spots such as the Figure Eight Pools and Wedding Cake Rock had signage warning of the dangers, yet people still chose to ignore them.
He expected a further briefing on Tuesday and said he would consult with National Parks and Wildlife — which oversees the lookout area — to consider whether further safety measures were needed.
"I really want to find out exactly where…it happened, was there fencing? Was there any signage there? And if we've got to look as a community and as a council and a government to spell it out more, we will spell it out more.
"We will probably need to educate people more."
