British tourist and partner fall to deaths ‘taking a selfie’
A BRITISH woman and her Australian partner have fallen to their deaths while taking a selfie on a picturesque sea wall in Portugal.
The woman, named as Louise Benson, 37, fell 40ft along with Michael Kearns, 33, while they were on holiday in the seaside town of Ericeira.
A mobile phone was found on the top of the wall overlooking the beach where the couple’s bodies were found on Tuesday morning.
Rui Pereira da Terra, captain of the maritime authority in Cascais, said the victims appeared to have lost their balance while taking a photograph overlooking the Praia dos Pescadores (Fishermen’s Beach).
“Everything seems to indicate that the fall happened when they were probably trying to take a selfie,” he said.
“As we found a mobile phone on the wall, our theory is that they were taking a selfie, but they dropped the phone and leaned to grab it and fell.”
The accident is believed to have occurred between 1am and 6am. A council beach cleaner discovered the bodies at 6:30am.
The Foreign Office confirmed the woman involved in the accident was British and that relatives had been contacted and were being supported.
Mr Kearns’s mother confirmed to local media from her home in Perth, Austrailia, that she had been notified of the deaths in the early hours. She said the couple had left Australia in January on a holiday and had attended a friend’s wedding in Portugal.
On Facebook, Liz Catchpole, a friend of Ms Benson, wrote: “No words can describe what we have lost. A Bristol girl who just loved life. Your smile infectious, your laugh amazing, your friendship invaluable … in shock and speechless, I will miss you so much.” Locals have said that the wall is dangerous, and have asked for something to be done about it.
Pedro Fernandes Tomas wrote on Facebook: “With the fall of a couple of tourists from the cliff of Fishermen’s Beach, it is urgent to rethink the security of that area. The locals know about the danger there – low wall and no protection net. With the growing influx of tourists there are measures that need to be taken.”
Susana Esmareldo agreed, writing: “I’ve always thought there was a protection net missing, because the wall is low. I hope that action will be taken.” Additional reporting by Henry Dyer