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Tourist's body recovered from Vic Falls gorge after 10-hour search
18 hrs ago |
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An American tourist tragically lost his life after falling 108 metres into the Victoria Falls gorge on the Zambian side in a harrowing incident that has left authorities and witnesses reeling.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday evening when the man, who had crossed from Zimbabwe into Zambia, slipped on the spray-slicked edge of the falls and plummeted face down onto the rocky base of the gorge. His disappearance was first reported on Tuesday by a local lodge in Victoria Falls.
"He left Zimbabwe for Zambia on Monday and was reportedly seen drinking in Zambia before heading to the falls at the Zambian side," said a witness who requested anonymity. By Tuesday evening, searchers spotted a motionless body on the distant rocks near the Zambian edge.
The recovery operation, launched at first light on Wednesday, involved a joint effort by Zambian police, Zambian commandos, the Zimbabwe National Army, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and a local tour company. The location's sheer cliffs, constantly slick from the falls' mist, made the operation exceptionally perilous.
Around 2pm, a Zambian commando descended the gorge, harnessed by rope, to reach the body. Securing it onto a stretcher was only the beginning of the challenge. Over the next four hours, teams painstakingly hauled the stretcher up the near-vertical, slippery rock face, forming a human chain to battle gravity, exhaustion, and the psychological weight of the task.
By close of day, the team successfully brought the body to the Victoria Falls Bridge, where it was transferred to a waiting Zambian police vehicle for formal identification and processing. Sources confirmed the remains were those of the American tourist reported missing in Zimbabwe.
Authorities on both sides of the Zambezi have yet to release an official statement on the tragedy. The incident underscores the extreme hazards posed by the falls' sheer cliffs and treacherous, mist-slicked rocks, even to experienced visitors.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday evening when the man, who had crossed from Zimbabwe into Zambia, slipped on the spray-slicked edge of the falls and plummeted face down onto the rocky base of the gorge. His disappearance was first reported on Tuesday by a local lodge in Victoria Falls.
"He left Zimbabwe for Zambia on Monday and was reportedly seen drinking in Zambia before heading to the falls at the Zambian side," said a witness who requested anonymity. By Tuesday evening, searchers spotted a motionless body on the distant rocks near the Zambian edge.
Around 2pm, a Zambian commando descended the gorge, harnessed by rope, to reach the body. Securing it onto a stretcher was only the beginning of the challenge. Over the next four hours, teams painstakingly hauled the stretcher up the near-vertical, slippery rock face, forming a human chain to battle gravity, exhaustion, and the psychological weight of the task.
By close of day, the team successfully brought the body to the Victoria Falls Bridge, where it was transferred to a waiting Zambian police vehicle for formal identification and processing. Sources confirmed the remains were those of the American tourist reported missing in Zimbabwe.
Authorities on both sides of the Zambezi have yet to release an official statement on the tragedy. The incident underscores the extreme hazards posed by the falls' sheer cliffs and treacherous, mist-slicked rocks, even to experienced visitors.
Source - The Chronicle
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