Woman Clings To Tree Root To Avoid 300-Foot Plunge At Multnomah Falls Cliff

KEY POINTS

The hiker was clicking a photo, when she slipped and fell
Bystanders at the trail held onto her with a rope until rescuers arrived
The woman was uninjured and was able to go home after a medical evaluation

A woman in Oregon held on for dear life from a tree root after slipping and falling from a trail at Multnomah Falls.

The unidentified woman grabbed the tree root to avoid falling further down the 300-foot cliff, following which bystanders held onto her with a rope until help arrived.

The incident occurred Monday afternoon when the woman was visiting the popular falls in the Columbia River Gorge. She was just past the falls’ bridge when she slipped and fell while taking a photo. The woman plunged about 20 to 30 feet down, according to the Corbett Fire District 14 fire department. As she fell, the hiker grabbed onto a tree root to keep herself from tumbling down the 300-foot cliff, according to KGW.

Bystanders then came to her aid and lowered a rope down to the woman, which she tied around her waist.

“She slipped off the trail fell over a cliff hanging on to a tree root,” Corbett Fire wrote on Twitter. “Bystanders lowered a small rope to help her until crew got on scene.”

The firefighters managed to lower a rope rescue technician down the side, and get the woman onto a harness. Along with the help of some bystanders, the rescuers finally managed to pull the woman up and bring her to safety, the UPI reported.

Hiker rescued from a cliff at Multnomah Falls.
She slipped off the trail fell over a cliff hanging on to a tree root.
Bystanders lowered a small rope to help her until crew got on scene.
She was rescued and was not injured. pic.twitter.com/AlUCIqYsVA
— Corbett Fire (@Corbett_Fire) December 28, 2021

“She was very, very lucky,” said Rick Wunsch with Corbett Fire.

The woman survived the harrowing incident without any injuries. Following a medical evaluation, the woman was able to go back home with her son, who was also at the scene.

A similar incident took place after a 30-year-old man fell 140 feet down a waterfall while taking a selfie in Karnataka, India. Identified as Pradeep Sagar, the man was accompanied by friends while visiting the Gokak waterfalls in the Belgavi district in October 2021. Sagar was taking a selfie at the viewpoint when he slipped and fell into the gorge below. Rescuers arrived at the spot but could not locate Sagar; all the while, his phone continued ringing. The next day, Sagar managed to contact his friends at around 4 a.m. using his mobile phone. Rescuers were finally able to find him and bring him to safety. Sagar survived the incident with only minor injuries.