Authorities believe that three people were swept over Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park yesterday afternoon. The waterfall, on California’s Merced River, is well over 300 feet tall.
Witnesses report seeing two unidentified men and a woman climbing over the safety rail along the trail before falling into the river and ultimately down the falls.
Reports also indicate that the men and the woman were possibly part of a larger group of tourists.
CNN and other national news outlets picked up on the story this morning.
“I saw the man’s eyes when he went over the falls. That was devastating,” Jacob Bibee, a witness to the events, told KGPE-TV, a CBS affiliate in central California.
The condition of the victims, who are currently being labeled as “missing hikers,” is unknown. Rangers at Yosemite have closed the hiking trail near Vernal Falls as they continue their investigation.