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Mount Martha Pillars cliffs on Mornington Peninsula: painful moment girl, 12, shattered both legs when jumping off cliff – while issuing warning to other thrill seekers

Albert Elence — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 12:02:12 +0000

By Zak Wheeler for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:11 EST, January 10, 2024 | Updated: 06:59 EST, January 10, 2024

A promising high school diver thought she was paralyzed after jumping off a cliff at low tide at a popular surfing spot.

Sarah Jacka, 12, broke three bones in her legs and one in her ankle when she performed a pin-drop jump from the cliffs of The Pillars in Mount Martha along the Mornington Peninsula on New Year’s Day.

Her father Chris was filming the dive from the family’s boat when he heard his daughter’s ‘harrowing’ screams.

The year seven pupil was rescued by surf lifeguards and taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where she underwent surgery on Tuesday after her swelling went down.

Now Sarah and her father are repeating the message from rescue teams to try to prevent others from taking the same risk they did when she jumped from The Pillars.

Sarah Jacka, 12, broke three bones in her legs and one in her ankle when she did a pin-drop jump from the Pillars cliffs in Mount Martha along the Mornington Peninsula on New Year’s Day

Her father Chris filmed the jump from the family’s boat before hearing his daughter’s ‘harrowing’ screams

When Sarah hit the ocean floor, she immediately lost all feeling in her legs and assumed she would be paralyzed.

“I was like, ‘oh my god, I’ve paralyzed myself.’ I couldn’t feel my legs at all,” she says told 9News.

Sarah was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where X-rays showed she had suffered bilateral fractures below both knees and a further three in her right ankle.

Once her condition stabilized, she was transferred to Epworth Hospital in Richmond for reconstructive surgery.

Chris praised his daughter for being a “trooper” during the recovery process, which is expected to last the next six months.

Sarah has now returned home and uses her father’s mechanical trolley to travel around the house while her legs are in position.

Before the accident, she was considered an elite athlete and was a former gymnast who competed on the state diving team.

“It’s kind of sad because I’m so active and it’s really hard not being able to exercise,” she said.

Sarah’s recovery will take six months and in the meantime she will travel around on Chris’ mechanical trolley

Days before Sarah shattered her legs, a 24-year-old man had to be rescued after jumping from the same area and landing on his neck.

A surf rescue team was sent to rescue the man who was semi-conscious but unable to walk at the time.

One member of the team said these incidents were becoming more frequent and each incident required a specialist group to navigate the difficult cliff areas.

The Mount Martha cliff is Crown land and the council said it had placed ‘do not jump’ signs near The Pillars to prevent further such incidents from happening.

Sarah said she won’t be doing the jump again once she’s recovered, and Chris said the two will now encourage others to think twice before trying it themselves.

“It’s not worth the injury, it’s not worth the risk for that 30 seconds of adrenaline,” Chris said.

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This Morning fans were left cringing as Sarah Ferguson gushed about ‘incredible’ Sir Cliff Richard – only for the veteran singer to end her praise in an ‘awkward’ moment

Sabir Ansary — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:33:07 +0000

This is the awkward moment a visibly star-struck Sarah Ferguson gushed over Sir Cliff Richard today – only for the veteran singer to end her praise.

The Duchess of York, 64, appeared as a guest editor on today’s show, presenting alongside Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

After giving viewers relationship advice and hosting the show’s Spin to Win segment, Sarah sat down with the legendary singer to quiz him about his new album.

Sarah sat next to Cliff on the sofa and said: ‘I can’t get over it, it’s just unbelievable.

“You know, Sir Cliff, sitting here with you, I’m at a loss for words, and that’s very unlike me!”

Sir Cliff concluded the compliment, replying, “Oh come on, you’re never lost.”

The awkward moment didn’t go unnoticed by viewers – who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post about their interaction.

One wrote: ‘This whole Sarah Ferguson thing is so random and actually quite difficult to watch.’

Another wondered: ‘Sarah Ferguson and Cliff Richard on the same sofa together?’

Responding to Sarah posting about the show afterwards, a third said: ‘You did really well.

“It’s a shame Sir Cliff wasn’t a little more thoughtful in his comments.”

The mother-of-two was undeterred by the comment and then referred to one of her favorite songs by the singer, who has been making music for more than 65 years.

Fergie turned to Alison and Dermot and said: ‘I remember Living Doll and you weren’t born!’

Pictured: Sarah Ferguson – who was guest editor of This Morning today – sat down with Sir Cliff Richard for the final part of the show

The Duchess of York said she was ‘lost for words’ in front of Sir Cliff Richards and raved about his 1959 hit Living Doll

The awkward moment didn’t go unnoticed by viewers – who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post about their interaction between Sarah Ferguson and Sir Cliff Richard.

Living Doll was released in 1959 – the year Sarah was born – and sold 1.86 million copies, becoming the best-selling single of the year.

Although Move It was the song that kick-started Sir Cliff’s career in 1958, Living Doll scored him his first number one – and stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks.

Furthermore, Fergie went on to label Sir Cliff as ‘incredible’ and praised his dance moves.

During the segment, viewers were shown clips of music videos from his new album Cliff With Strings featuring the 83-year-old dancing.

When asked if he had managed to stay so fit, Sir Cliff replied: ‘I went through a period of eating [one meal a day] but I started eating what is good for your blood type and I will stick to that. Sometimes I realize I’m just not hungry!’

After hearing this, Alison joked, “Can I come to your house and stay for a week?”

After the show, Sarah wrote on Instagram: ‘As co-host and guest editor, I have been fortunate to be able to choose a number of topics that I am passionate about. Thank you to my wonderful co-hosts and everyone who tuned in!”

The royal family joined presenters Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond to answer people’s dilemmas

The Duchess of York appeared on This Morning where she acted as a pain aunt for people with relationship problems

Earlier in the show, Sarah had spoken her words of wisdom to viewers who were struggling with problems in their love lives.

During the love and relationships segment, the Duchess acted as a suffering aunt, offering advice to two couples struggling with intimacy issues in their marriages.

And there was a common thread in Sarah’s responses, with the mum-of-two suggesting both callers rekindled the spark by livening things up in the bedroom.

“Put a nice, provocative underwear section in your dresser drawer and you really make the hair, you know, blow-dry the hair and take it out for a treat.”

“It’s the element of surprise and it will bring the magic back into your relationship,” Prince Andrew’s ex-wife continued.

The first caller, Suzanne, explained how she and her husband struggle to balance a demanding career with a young child.

Sarah asked, “Is your husband feeling a little left out?”

Suzanne replied: ‘I think so, yes. The other day he had the tree lights on and wanted to do something, but I thought, ‘I can’t, I have to go to bed.’

“Okay, okay, so the first question I have for you is, do you have a friend next door or do you have a mother-in-law or your mother or someone who can just babysit or come over while you take your husband out on a date? big surprise?

“You come down and get a nice, provocative underwear section in your dresser and you actually fix the hair, you know, blow-dry the hair and take it out for a treat.

‘There must be more delicacies that he has no words for.

“So you say to him, ‘Don’t worry tonight honey, we’re going somewhere’ and you’ve got the whole thing sorted out and it’s all organised.

“It’s the element of surprise and it will bring the magic back into your relationship.”

Despite being separated for more than 27 years, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson remain close friends and live together at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.

In 2018, Sarah told the Daily Mail: ‘We are the happiest divorced couple in the world. We are separated from each other, not from each other […] It is my duty to him. I am so proud of him. I support him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale.’

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day in July 1986

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew set off on their honeymoon in August 1986

‘The gifts that keep on giving…’: Sarah Ferguson posted a series of heartwarming photos with the Queen’s corgis on the morning of her 63rd birthday

Prince Andrew pictured next to his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson at last night’s coronation concert in Windsor

Three months after their engagement was announced, Sarah and Andrew married at Westminster Abbey in July 1986.

Speaking to Piers Morgan in 2011, Sarah said: ‘We married for total love. And when I walked down that aisle, I… I married my husband.”

The couple had their first child, Princess Beatrice, in August 1988 and Princess Eugenie followed in March 1990.

However, the couple legally separated just two years later. At the time, Sarah cited Prince Andrew’s naval commitments as the reason the marriage failed.

She told American presenter Ernie Manouse in 2010: ‘My deal was that I was going to marry my husband, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer.

‘But what I got was not the man, I got the palace and I didn’t get him… and the courtiers told me I had to go to Buckingham Palace and he had to go to sea. Before our wedding I saw him 40 days a year.’

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The fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world… going off a CLIFF: Saudi Arabia’s ‘Falcon’s Flight’ promises a speed of 250 km/h, with a stomach-churning 200 meter drop

Albert Elence — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 11:35:11 +0000

Saudi Arabia has unveiled its latest record-breaking mega project, the world’s fastest and tallest roller coaster, promising speeds of 250 km/h and a 200-metre drop.

The Falcon’s Flight will be built at Six Flags Qiddiya, an entertainment center under development near Riyadh, as part of the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 goals.

A new video shows a projection of the proposed attraction as it meanders along a 4,000-foot track, at one point jumping off the side of a cliff.

It is expected to eclipse the current height record holder, the 456ft Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.

And it will also surpass the fastest: currently Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which reaches speeds of 230 km/h and requires drivers to wear goggles.

Projections show what roller coaster fans can expect as they plunge 650 feet off a cliff

The fragment shows the extent of the planned ride against the backdrop of the vast desert landscape

At 250 km/h, the ride will be the fastest in the world, upsetting the record holder in Abu Dhabi

The project was presented by Intamin this week at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo.

Qiddiya’s Chief Executive Officer, Philippe Gas, said: ‘Roller coaster fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting this ride since it was announced, because there is nothing like it anywhere else.

“Now that we’re in the design phase with the experts at Intamin and the Six Flags engineering team, the excitement is building!

‘Falcon’s Flight will dominate the Qiddiya skyline, all the way around our destination, straight out of the theme park, up the cliff and down the cliff face – the biggest descent of any ride in the world; it won’t be for the faint of heart.’

Six Flags Qiddiya is billed as ‘a theme park that will break all records in family fun and entertainment’, spread across six themed lands with ‘a range of record-breaking rides and attractions, including the gravity-defying Falcon’s Flight’.

It will be built in Qiddiya, a planned city ‘on the doorstep of Riyadh’ being developed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

“Our goal, in line with Vision 2030, is to ensure that Saudi Arabia is among the top tourist destinations in the world and we are proud of the local, regional and international media attention our project continues to attract,” said a spokesperson. website advertisement for the development plans reads.

Saudi Arabia, which has one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is planning a number of so-called mega-projects aimed at reinventing its economy.

The planned smart city of Neom in northwestern Saudi Arabia was announced by the Crown Prince in October 2017, also as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 to reduce oil dependence, diversify the economy and build public service sectors.

The ambitious project would be powered solely by wind and solar energy and is estimated to cost $500 billion.

Critics have noted that only two buildings had been constructed by July 2022, ahead of the first phase completion date set for 2025.

In January 2021, plans were unveiled for a 170 kilometer long, 200 meter wide, linear city – ‘The Line’ – running through the region.

It is expected that all basic facilities for nine million residents will be within five minutes’ walking distance.

But the project has drawn criticism surveillance technology for data collection and for sentencing people to death who were forcibly evicted and displaced to make way for the project.

Amnesty International has noticed that the Saudi Vision 2030 was made possible by a massive demolition and eviction plan that affected half a million people in Jeddah alone, violating international human rights standards and discriminating against foreigners.

Falcon’s Flight is being built at Six Flags Qiddiya, a theme park that promises to ‘break all records in family fun and entertainment’

Formula One-style cars are pictured racing around the roller coaster at Six Flags Qiddiya

The CEO of Qiddiya said: ‘Roller coaster fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting this ride since it was announced, as there is nothing like it anywhere else.’

The planned roller coaster will accommodate fourteen people at a time, the developers say

Saudi Arabia is also investing in Amaala, an upcoming sustainable mega-project of 2,500 hotel rooms and 200 shops, aiming to attract tourists to the Red Sea coast.

A number of cultural sites will also receive investments as the country looks to attract international tourists as part of its diversification drive.

The Saudi Vision 2030 includes attracting 27 million domestic and foreign tourists.

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This dramatic road to a beach in Bali, which cuts through a cliff, is dividing the internet – with some saying it’s ‘incredible’, while others calling it a ‘death trap’ in an earthquake-prone country

Albert Elence — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 07:51:38 +0000

This path leads to a big debate on the internet.

It runs through a rock wall and leads to the golden Pandawa Beach on the Indonesian island of Bali.

A dramatic sight to behold, the limestone cliffs on either side of the road rise to heights of over 40 meters (131 feet). The route is 300 meters long and eight meters wide The Bali sunand has recently seen a surge of interest after a video of it was posted online.

The clip begins with an aerial view above the rock crevice, with the camera diving into the crevasse and showing several parked cars and beachgoers taking photos.

Shared by Instagram user ‘Something incredible has happened’the striking images have caused a stir online, with social media users divided over the design of the road.

The cliff-lined road leading to Bali’s popular Pandawa Beach has sparked a heated online debate, with some social media users criticizing its construction and others describing it as ‘incredible’.

The route is 300 meters long and eight meters wide and was opened in 2012

Commenting on the video, Instagram user ‘Shevinna1021’ declared the road – which reportedly took two years to build – ‘incredible’, while another called it ‘absolutely stunning’.

However, when the images were reposted on Redditpeople were quick to criticize the construction.

User ‘Ozzy_thedog’ wrote: ‘Seems like a not very well thought out idea’, to which user ‘Smithmonster’ replied: ‘That’s what I thought too. Why not drive at the top and make a short ramp at the end? It seems very ridiculous.’

A dramatic sight to see, the limestone cliffs on either side of the road are over 40 meters high at their highest point

Despite mixed opinions, the road has become a major tourist attraction, with many travelers taking selfies and videos among the towering cliffs

Another user wrote: ‘I can’t say I like carving a chunk out of the earth to make a beach a little more convenient.’

Others were concerned about what might happen to the road in the event of an earthquake. Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur. ShelterBox notes.

User ‘LakerBeer’ wrote: ‘That looks like a death trap waiting for the next earthquake or tsunami.’

And user ‘SweetTorello666’ echoed: ‘Imagine an earthquake happens and [it gets] crushed. I doubt it, but I’m way too paranoid to go there.’

The beach itself is described as a ‘tourist trap’ and costs 15,000 Indonesian rupiah (£0.80/$1) to enter

One traveler admitted she had long wanted to travel along the road after seeing photos of it online

Despite mixed opinions, the road has become a major tourist attraction, with many travelers taking selfies and videos among the towering cliffs. Instagram user ‘Azlinfarida‘, a self-confessed ‘travelholic’ who visited the road last month, admitted she had long wanted to visit the site after seeing photos of it online.

The beach it leads to is also a tourist attraction.

Local tour operator Bali Ogie tour notes that Pandawa Beach was once a “secret beach” that only locals visited, noting, “It used to be super difficult to access because it was located in a deep valley and surrounded by all white stone cliffs.”

However, when the public access road to Pandawa Beach opened in 2012, it became extremely popular. The Bali sun reports. According to the Travel triangleand has a four-star rating on Tripadvisor, with user ‘Jack H’ describing it as ‘the best beach in Bali’. Another reviewer, Aimee, praised his ‘gold sand, clean blue ocean and fresh coconut water’.

However, some call it a ‘tourist trap’. Under the title ‘Paradise Lost’, reviewer ‘Kevin B’ wrote: ‘In 2012 this beach was truly a secret beach; there wasn’t even a parking space.

“Now… there are people everywhere,” he wrote, adding that he saw busloads of tourists disembarking on the beach. He added: ‘Terrible. ‘[I’m] luckily I visited before the commercial side took over.”

The beach is located in the South Kuta district of Bali, less than three kilometers away from Uluwatu Temple and the Nusa Dua area. Travel triangle reveals. It is approximately an hour’s drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport.

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Is this the loneliest sheep in Britain? Drones are being sent to check on animals stranded on a cliff beach in the Scottish Highlands for TWO years

Albert Elence — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 07:06:40 +0000

Ewe has been stranded on a remote beach in Scotland for two years after falling off a cliff

By Mike Merritt for the Scottish Daily Mail

Published: 8:06 PM EDT, October 26, 2023 | Updated: 8:34 PM EDT, October 26, 2023

They naturally feel at home as part of a herd. But Scotland’s loneliest sheep has been stuck at the foot of a cliff in the Highlands for two years.

Jillian Turner spotted the animal in 2021 during a trip from Balintore to Nigg with the East Sutherland Canoe and Kayak Club.

But recently she made the same trip again and noticed that the sheep was still stuck on the small stretch of beach. Now drones have been sent to check on the animal.

Mrs Turner, from Brora, Sutherland, said when she first saw the sheep she assumed it would manage to climb the cliff face. When the canoe club returned, they were shocked to see that the animal was still there.

She said: ‘She called our approach and followed the group along the coast again, jumping from rock to rock, calling to us all the way.

The circled sheep looks around in hope of rescue and shows off its impressive long coat above

The rugged coastline where the sheep have been stranded for more than two years

A kayaker passes the rocky coastline where a sheep is stranded

‘The poor ewe has been alone for at least two years – for a herd animal to be tortured, and she seemed desperate to contact us the two times we passed her.

‘It’s heartbreaking. We honestly thought she might come back that first year.

‘After the storm at the weekend I’m worried about whether she survived. With huge seas rushing in and a torrent of water rushing through the channels, it must have been traumatic, if not fatal, for her.”

The ewe’s coat highlighted its time in isolation. Mrs Turner said: ‘Her fur was a normal one year growth the first time, but on the recent trip the fur was huge and was touching the ground at the back.’

The sheep is not the same breed as that of local farmers.

Mrs Turner has appealed to anyone she can think of who could help in a rescue effort, but so far she has done nothing.

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43-year-old woman is arrested for murder after kidnapping another woman and pushing her off a cliff

Albert Elence — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 12:10:08 +0000

A woman in Alabama is incarcerated, accused of killing another woman by pushing her off a cliff in 2021.

The deceased woman, Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 37, was believed to be missing since late 2021 in the town of Hartselle, just north of Birmingham.

On Sunday, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department announced that Loretta Ray Carr, 43, of Fort Payne, Alabama, had been arrested and charged with Isbell’s murder.

According to police, Carr kidnapped and killed Isbell by pushing her off a cliff on October 18, 2021.

However, since Isbell was first reported missing in early 2022, her family has maintained she was last seen in November 2021, a month after the alleged murder took place.

DeKalb County deputies are now searching for Isbell’s remains at an undisclosed location. ROAD 31 reports, while Carr is being held without bail. DailyMail.com has contacted crime investigation agencies regarding the discrepancy.

Mary Elizabeth Isbell was officially reported missing in January 2022, three months after police said she had been killed

Loretta Ray Carr, 43, of Fort Payne, was arrested Sunday for allegedly kidnapping 37-year-old Isbell and pushing her off a cliff to her death

Carr’s lawyers argue in court documents obtained by AL.com that there is no evidence that she killed Isbell

Isbell in the picture with her son in 2020, on Mother’s Day 2022 he wished her a ‘Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day’

Carr’s lawyers argue in court documents obtained by ALREADY. com that there is no evidence that she killed Isbell, as it remains unclear whether there was any connection between the two women.

DeKalb County District Judge Steven Whitmire has scheduled a preliminary hearing for Aug. 21.

In December 2021, Isbell’s son’s father posted a message on social media asking for information on her whereabouts.

“I actually hate putting this on social media here, but Facebook covers a wide area. [her son] hasn’t heard from his mom since September 6th on his birthday and he’s really worried about her because she always calls him at least during the holidays,” Steven Isbell wrote on Dec. 27.

“I have spoken to her family and no one has heard from her. So we thought about filing a missing person report,” he added.

In January 2022, an official missing persons report was filed with both the Hartselle Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. In April 2022, a Facebook group was created seeking information about her disappearance.

A month later, her son delivered a heartbreaking Facebook tribute on Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom if you’re there and if not, Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day. I love and miss you so much that not a day goes by that I don’t think of you!” he wrote in part.

Isbell pictured with her boyfriend James Allen Wright, just before her disappearance he was arrested and sent to Florida rehab

Isbell’s car, a black Jeep, with Alabama tags

Isbell’s mom said in a 2022 interview that her daughter lived “where she could” in DeKalb County

At the time she was last seen, Isbell was living with her boyfriend, James Allen Wright, in DeKalb County.

WHERE reported in the summer of 2022 that Isbell was suspected of theft prior to her disappearance.

The station reported that James Allen Wright was arrested by the sheriff’s office in September 2021 for an undisclosed crime and was released to Florida rehab in November 2021.

While in jail, the sheriff’s office said, Isbell “lived wherever she could in DeKalb County.”

“I think she got involved with some of the wrong people,” her mother, Debbie Wood, told the local news outlet last year.

She described Isbell’s relationship as “new but troubled” and said they always got into fights.

Authorities have previously said Isbell was last seen on November 23, 2021 visiting her mother in her hometown of Hartselle, and was seen again the next day across the street from her son’s school.

But according to the indictment filed Monday, Isbell was murdered a month before she reportedly showed up at her mother’s house.

Speaking of her pain while her daughter was still reported missing, Wood said, “Part of me wants to believe she’s still here, the other part says, ‘Prepare for a funeral if we can find her remains.’ ‘

In a statement, DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said: “DCSO, along with several other law enforcement agencies and emergency services personnel, is currently on the scene of an undisclosed location attempting to recover possible human remains. No other information is available at this time.

“The case is of the highest priority and further information will be released as it becomes available and no consideration will be given to the risk of jeopardizing the case.”

Last year, Isbell’s mother shared how she feared her daughter could be dead

On her Facebook page, Isbell wrote in her Intro section, “It’s not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes us happy.”

Multiple social media tributes paid tribute to her as a loving mother who loved life. News of Carr’s arrest for her murder came two days before what would have been her 39th birthday.

Following the news that Isbell had been killed, a Facebook group titled ‘Search for Beth Isbell Wright’ was set up with people expressing their grief.

“There are no words to describe the sadness and heartbreak. I am so sorry for all of you and loved ones,” one woman wrote on Thursday.

Holly Douglas also posted, “Dear Beth when I first found out I was speechless but now my heart just aches for all of you loved ones.

“You always had such a great personality and an even bigger smile. We have had many good conversations about life and where it takes us. You are loved and sorely missed.”

And Shea Gonzalez wrote, “RIH Beth, you will be truly missed.

“I’m still in shock at this news… Because you’re unique and you definitely didn’t deserve this,” Gonzalez continued, vowing to continue to watch over her son.

“I know everyone up there is laughing… And family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I’m all sorry [are] go through here.’

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Terrifying moment when a female thrill-seeker crashes into rocks when the cliff jump goes all wrong

Albert Elence — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 10:39:19 +0000

Terrifying moment when a female thrill-seeker crashes into rocks when the jump off a cliff in the Italian Sea goes horribly wrong

The woman’s partner tried to hold her down, but she crashed into the rocks below
It reportedly took her an hour to be transported to a waiting ambulance

By Miriam Kupper

published: 06:02 EDT, Jun 19, 2023 | Updated: 06:33 EDT, Jun 19, 2023

This is the terrifying moment when a female thrillseeker crashed into rocks after her cliff jump into the Italian Sea went horribly wrong.

A tourist at the Fiordo di Furore cliffs – which translates to Fjord of Fury – in Italy captured the moment when a woman plunged off the cliff face into the water below, despite her partner desperately trying to grab her.

The woman seemed to hit the rough rocks with her legs before falling headfirst into the sea.

Australian tourist Kal Glanzig, who shot the footage, had emphasized the importance of travel insurance just before her fall as she prepared to jump into the water.

Mr Glanzig said: ‘In this week’s episode on why you should buy travel insurance, we have an old friend (the woman) who has no idea what the water temperature is.’

A tourist at the Fiordo di Furore cliffs – which translates to Fjord of Fury – captured the moment when a woman falls from the cliff face into the water below, despite her desperate partner trying to grab her as she falls. The woman seemed to hit the rough rocks with her legs before falling headfirst into the sea

The video’s caption read, “If only travel insurance companies offered extra idiot protection.”

He said it took nearly an hour to get the woman to the waiting ambulance.

His video stunned viewers, as many said they couldn’t understand why she would want to jump into the water in the first place because it’s shallow.

One of his followers said, “Something tells me her day tomorrow will be just as bad,” while another added, ”

Australian tourist Kal Glanzig, who shot the footage, had emphasized the importance of travel insurance just before her fall as she prepared to jump into the water. Mr Glanzig said: ‘In this week’s episode on why you should get travel insurance, we have an old friend (the wife) who has no idea what the water temperature is’

Tourism heads have long warned of the dangers of jumping off cliffs into the sea for thrills.

Last year, a British tourist was left in intensive care after falling on rocks when he jumped into the sea near the Ibiza party resort of San Antonio.

The holidaymaker, believed to be 33, is believed to have suffered a cervical vertebral fracture that could cause paralysis from the chest down.

earlier this year, two men were seriously injured after a botched cliff dive in which they plunged 100 feet (30 meters) from the sheer cliff face before falling belly-first into a water-filled ravine below.

Shocking footage showed the moment when the unknown men stood atop the cliff next to a wooden cross, took a deep breath and then jumped one after another into the abyss in the area of Canteras de Deuco in Angol, Chile, on Jan. 4.

The first jumper landed only a few feet from the edge of the cliff, narrowly escaping death, but hit the water with a sickening blow, sending the water high into the air despite having a relatively stable body position.

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American woman dies in Neuschwanstein Castle after being pushed off cliff

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 12:41:12 +0000

An American woman was killed and another injured on Wednesday when a man pushed them off a cliff near Neuschwanstein Castle, the popular German tourist resort at the foot of the Alps, local police said.

The police in Bavaria – the state in which the castle is located said to have been the inspiration for Snow White’s Castle at Disneyland in California – said they had arrested a 30-year-old American suspect after a manhunt involving a helicopter and sniffer dogs. They appealed to witnesses who may have seen or filmed the deadly episode, in which the man also allegedly attempted to sexually assault one of the women.

“It’s a very rare and remarkable thing that happens there,” said Holger Stabik, a police spokesman. “We rarely have any crime there.”

Police have not released the names of the victims or the suspect or the home state.

The two women, friends aged 21 and 22, visited the site as tourists, police said said in a statement. On Wednesday, the women were near the castle when they met an American man, who persuaded them to join him on a little-used unofficial hiking trail that led to a forest and to the picturesque cliffs surrounding the castle, police said.

Once out of sight of the busy official path, they said, he attacked the 21-year-old. When the 22-year-old tried to intervene, the man pushed her off the sheer cliff, according to police, before attempting to sexually assault the 21-year-old and then pushing her off the cliff as well.

Both women plunged about 50 feet and were soon after rescued by the local mountain patrol and flown by emergency airlift to a hospital, according to police. But the 21-year-old woman died that night from her injuries.

The 22-year-old was in stable condition and was able to speak to detectives, according to police.

Neuschwanstein Castle, near the Austrian border about 80 kilometers southwest of Munich, is one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. Built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the second half of the 19th century, the castle attracts around 1.4 million visitors each year.

Eric Abneri, 21, a New York native, said in an interview that he visited the castle with some friends on a tour of Europe on Wednesday. When he saw a helicopter trying to rescue the two women, he and his friends thought it was just an ordinary hiking accident. But he soon stumbled upon the police investigation and watched officers lead a man away, a scene he filmed and then posted on Twitter.

A rescue helicopter near the castle on Wednesday.Credit…Eric Abneri, via Reuters

Mr Abneri said the man had not resisted when he was taken away by police and that the man looked like a ‘general tourist’.

“The one thing I noticed is that he had a lot of red marks on his face and neck,” Mr Abneri said in the interview, adding: “He really looked like the victims were clawing at him.”

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The Refries That Bind: A Cavernous Cantina Returns, Cliff Divers and All

Sabir Ansary — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 16:13:55 +0000

Colorado’s defining features include glorious mountain peaks, vibrant seasonal colors, skiing, and a widespread urge to exercise and eat well. But for generations of Colorado kids, perhaps the most shared experience was Casa Bonita, a huge, dingy, dimly lit, underground diner with food many diners considered barely edible.

Casa Bonita — sprawling over 52,000 square feet in the Denver suburb of Lakewood — served steamed beans, tacos, and enchiladas to thousands of people a day, buffet style. The dinner entertainment was a childhood fever’s dream: waterfalls, cliff divers, Black Bart’s Cave, counterfeit gold and silver mines, puppet shows, and a person in a gorilla costume chased by a sheriff, who sometimes joined in the cliff diving. Casa Bonita’s curious child grab was chronicled in an episode of “South Park.”

After that episode ended, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show’s creators, were frequently asked if such a place really existed. “Oh, that’s a place,” Mr. Parker often said, he said recently. “It’s crazy. It’s weird.” Like many Colorado kids, Mr. Parker had held his birthday parties there.

Then, in 2020, Casa Bonita went bankrupt, hit by the pandemic. The house was already in disrepair, dilapidated by overdue maintenance, riddled with electrical hazards, the ventilation systems covered in grease, and the carpet caked in something like concrete. The jokes about the food had earned it the nickname Casa NoEata. Still, his passing was mourned.

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If your house fell off a cliff, would you leave?

Albert Elence — Mon, 15 May 2023 09:20:00 +0000

On a stormy day in the spring of 2021, the seawall washed away on the beach below Lucy Ansbro’s clifftop home in Thorpeness, England. Then the end of her garden plunged into the North Sea.

Watching the plants tumble over the edge, she feared her home in this coastal town 110 miles northeast of London might be next.

“We lost ten feet of land,” Ms. Ansbro, a 54-year-old television producer, said recently in her kitchen. “Every time I went out, I didn’t know if the house would still be there when I came back.”

Coastal erosion is a natural process as waves pound beaches all over the world, but along this part of England’s east coast, stronger storms and bigger waves are scaring local residents like never before.

Thousands of homes here are threatened by the sea, and the government agencies charged with its defense are doing their utmost to keep pace. The Climate Change Commission, an independent advisory body British Environmental Service, has reported that 8,900 homes – 1,200 of which are on vast coastlines with no protective structures – are at risk from coastal erosion. Without active coastal management, approximately 82,000 homes could be lost by 2105.

To turn the tide, the Environment Agency has pledged £5.2 billion (about $6.5 billion) to build and realign 2,000 defenses – including seawalls made from rock or cement and steel – that could protect communities from erosion and floods, but not forever.

But in some high-risk coastal communities, homes are left at the mercy of nature. Distressed homeowners in these areas face the prospect of eviction and, even worse, having their own homes demolished.

Mrs Ansbro’s house, which she bought in 2010 for around £590,000, now stands 30 feet from the cliff’s edge. After losing her garden, she applied for permission from the local East Suffolk Council and the Environment Agency authorities to replace the gabions (metal cages filled with stones) and sand-filled geobags that were lost with riprap. The requests were granted, but that didn’t necessarily mean help was on the way.

In England, the cost of building sea walls is shared between state and local offices. At the national level, a funding calculator assesses how much of that £5.2 billion budget may be available. It depends on whether the “the benefits outweigh the costs” based on a timeline of erosion and four site-specific policy levels: Advance the Line, where new defenses extend the land area to the sea; Hold the Line, where new defenses maintain the existing coastline; Managed Realignment, where the shoreline is allowed to erode but money is spent “steering it in certain areas”; and No Active Intervention, where no national resources are invested.

At the local level, municipalities and landowners must make a difference.

“In lay terms, the policy is referred to as defend, retreat, or give up,” said Angela Terry, CEO of One Home, a group that advocates for at-risk homeowners.

Aware that the policy for Thorpeness is Managed Realignment and that the council’s naval defense coffers were empty, Ms. Ansbro did not expect support for her home. “I knew that if I didn’t come up with the money myself, I would lose my house,” she said.

So she refinanced her London apartment to pay for the construction of a 1,500-ton granite riprap to reinforce the cliff below her property. It cost her nearly £450,000 but the house is still standing.

Her neighbors, she said, did not invest in protecting their property and were forced to leave and then demolish the house. “It was a shock to see it disappear,” Ms. Ansbro said, looking at where the house had stood since the 1920s. “The community believes that the government should step in and pay for coastal defenses.”

It’s not always possible. In a statement to The New York Times, an Environmental Agency spokesperson defended the tiered system of shoreline support, saying, “Protections may not be technically possible or affordable, or may be harmful to the environment.”

Where the coastline cannot be defended, the British government is trying to help communities return from the sea. Last year, as part of a wider £200 million innovation program flood and coast£36 million was earmarked to help residents in the two coastal districts with the highest rates of erosion in England – the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Norfolk – cover demolition costs and relocation.

The five-year pilot program, which is still in a “preparatory phase”, aims to “work with coastal communities that cannot be sustainably protected from coastal erosion”. But not everyone there is thankful.

In the East Riding of Yorkshire village of Skipsea, Peter Garforth has lived for 23 years in a brick house overlooking the beach from Green Lane. When he bought the house, he felt safe. Despite the lack of a sea wall, there was a road separating the end of his garden from the edge of the cliff, which was 55 meters away. He raved about “the best view in Yorkshire”, he said, and made improvements to the property, which was built in 1985.

But then the road and part of his garden plunged into the sea in a fall from a cliff in 2009. It fell to Jane Evison, an East Riding of Yorkshire councilor, to explain to Mr Garforth the government’s No Active Intervention policy to lay. “It was a difficult message to get across,” Ms. Evison said. “Most people honestly thought they would have their home for the rest of their lives.”

The road was never repaired and the cliff is now approaching the minimum allowable distance from inhabited houses, which is 9.36 meters. Thanks to the new pilot program in his area, Mr. Garforth, 78, eligible for aid that could help him finally move inland. But he wants full funding for improved seawalls to protect his community.

“We feel we are second-class citizens, not as deserving as others,” said Mr. Garforth. “Somehow the appetite to protect the coastline has been lost.”

The most of the remaining properties on Green Lane are now abandoned and destroyed. Some were sold for next to nothing in cash, as banks do not lend mortgages on high-risk properties. Insurance companies also do not provide coverage.

Still, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council keeps a close eye on houses along the beach. Every six months, aerial surveillance teams measure the distance between the front porches of the Green Lane properties and the cliff edge.

“We don’t want a property going over the edge with someone in it or someone on the beach at the time,” said Richard Jackson, the council’s coastal change manager.

Mr. Garforth is angry that the nearby hamlet of Mappleton is protected by two seawalls and a revetment, while his village is not. But there’s a reason: Route B1242, the main coastal road in the area, passes directly through Mappleton, giving the hamlet Hold the Line status.

There are other reasons for not erecting defenses along much of the coastline. Some are environmentally friendly. “The erosional sediment in the East Riding is important to Lincolnshire’s flood risk defenses,” Jackson said, referring to the county just to the south. And of course: “Coastal defense is expensive,” he said, pointing out that building a riprap could cost £10,000 per metre.

Mr. Garforth expects to have to leave his house soon, and when the time comes, he wants to fight against it. “If an eviction notice comes knocking on my door, I’ll go to court,” he said.

Two hundred miles south of Hemsby, the shoreline is allowed to erode, in accordance with the Managed Realignment Policy. In March, five homes were demolished after storms pounded the cliffs.

Noel Galer, a Great Yarmouth Borough councilor for Hemsby, said permission was recently granted for a 0.8-mile rock wall. But paying for it won’t be easy. The National Financing Calculator uses a formula based on the value of the homes at risk from erosion over the next 25 years. “As the value of these houses is low, the Environment Agency can provide £2 million,” he said.

The rest is for the municipality to come up with itself. “We are now in the fundraising phase,” said Mr. Galer.

Coastal erosion has claimed English communities like Hemsby for centuries. In the 19th century, even a seat was removed from parliament after half of the borough of Dunwich was lost to the North Sea. The eastern cliffs are composed of soft clay and gravel, and “when the clay gets wet it softens and erodes,” says Stuart McLelland, co-director of the University of Hull’s Energy and Environment Institute.

Climate change increases risks for homeowners as “sea level rise is making beaches smaller and an increase in storms is causing bigger waves,” said Dr. McLelland.

Many coastal residents are selling their homes while they still can. A recent search on Britain’s largest property portal, Zoopla, found 81 properties for sale in the village of Hemsby. Prices range from £26,000 for a two-bedroom bungalow to £600,000 for a five-bedroom villa.

The properties are mostly “cash only purchases,” said Bradley Stark, a senior real estate advisor at Minors & Brady Estate Agents, who lists two high-risk properties in Hemsby.

“We’re not trying to scare off customers, but we do need to give honest feedback about the area,” said Mr Stark, whose company sold a two-bedroom house a mile up the coast from Hemsby last year for £300,000 cash . month.

Ms Evison, the East Riding councillor, warned that people there who bought property on the coast after 2009 would not be eligible for assistance under the new pilot scheme. Still, for some house hunters, a property atop an unstable cliff may seem like an attractive option – at the right price.

Last October, Helen Vine jumped at the chance to buy the Sellwood Arms pub, which sits near the cliffs in the village of Aldbrough, 12 miles south of Mr Garforth’s home and is subject to the same no-action policy. The pub is only about 65 yards from where the main road collapsed into the sea six years ago. With beamed ceilings and a four-bedroom apartment on the first floor where Mrs Vine, 51, now lives with her family, the pub was a bargain at just over £100,000. Sepia photographs of village landmarks that have been washed away by the sea over decades hang on the walls. But she remains undaunted.

“I couldn’t have afforded a place like this anywhere else,” she said.

Mrs. Vine is renovating the upstairs rooms, without, she joked, incurring excessive expense. The plan is to recoup her investment, and maybe some more, before she’s forced to scrap — hopefully not in decades to come.

“It’s a risk,” she said.

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