An inquest currently being held has found that a British tourist who was holidaying in Australia last summer tragically died after falling from a cliff ledge as she was preparing to take a photo.
The young woman named Zoe Woolmer, 23, died after she along with a tourist group went sight seeing at the popular tourist attraction in Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory, in June 2014. The long awaited inquest has found that Ms Woolmer died after she fell from the ledge which is described as a “lookout” where visitors can take “fun” images that would give the impression they were hanging on to or falling from the cliff. The inquest which got underway in Alice Springs, questioned the actions of the tour company which brought Ms Woolmer to the popular sight that day. The inquest heard testimony from a coroner who carried out an autopsy on Ms Woolmer who said her tragic death wad the result of the severe trauma she received during her descent. However the manner of how Ms Woolmer fell could not be established as it was unclear with a number of witnesses giving mixed details about what they saw.
One witness reportedly told police that Ms Woolmer fell as she went to put her right foot down and it did not reach the ledge as she anticipated. Leading counsel Mr Currie told the inquest: “As the witness put it ‘she stepped on air’. At that moment she also appears to have let go of her hold on the top ledge. “She reached out for the top ledge as she was falling backwards.”
It is understood Ms Woolmer apparently died when she fell 15 metres (50ft) on to more rocks suffering severe injuries including skull fractures, bleeding to the brain, a broken back, a fractured pelvis and a fractured right shoulder blade. She sadly died 50 minutes later at the scene. The inquest is set to continue tomorrow.