INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Point Reyes Cliff Collapse: Hiker Killed, Another Injured When Cliff Collapses

By Effie Orfanides
Published on: 04:25 PST, Mar 23, 2015

A Point Reyes cliff collapsed, killed one hiker, and injured another over the weekend. According to Sport Act, two adult hikers were found on top of a pile of boulders after the collapse. The park had posted warning signs about the unstable formations in the area, but the hikers either didn’t see the signs, or they chose to ignore them for one reason or another.

“We just put up warning signs this past Thursday and Friday. I can’t tell you why somebody would walk past those signs and not pay any attention to them. Obviously this is a tragedy, and one person didn’t survive, but one person did and hopefully this won’t happen again,” said park spokesman John Dell’Osso.

The Point Reyes cliff collapse occurred just before 6 p.m. on Saturday. According to The Press Democrat, the two hikers were standing at the top of the cliff at the Arch Rock lookout point when the ground beneath them crumbled. The two fell about 70 feet, and their bodies were limp on the rocks that they fell on. Covered in debris, one of the hikers was pronounced dead at the scene. The other hiker was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital. The current condition of the second hiker is unknown, and the identities of the two have not been released.

The Point Reyes cliff collapse was shocking to those in the area who have visited the exact spot in the past. Authorities in the park have said that the sandy formations are unstable, and have been worn down due to the ocean, and its crashing waves. No one could have predicted such a tragedy, but the park felt that they did the right thing by posting warning signs — they even put a warning on their website when they learned of the potential danger.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Chief Mike Giannini of the Marin County Fire Battalion did say that the second hire had potentially life-threatening injuries, but that doctors are confident that he will survive as long as he does not suffer any complications or setbacks.

[Photo courtesy of Twitter]

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