YouTubers, who chronicled their global travels on the video platform, died in the waters of Shannon Fall, British Columbia’s third highest waterfall on Tuesday.
Popular with extreme adventure aficionados, Ryker Gamble, Alexey Lyakh and Megan Scraper were swept by a fast current that plunged them into the water abyss some 100 feet down, Yahoo Entertainment reported.
A statement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reads the following.
“On July 3rd, 2018, at 11:55 am Squamish RCMP received a call from BC Ambulance regarding three people who were swimming in one of the pools at the top of Shannon Falls. The individuals were with a group of friends when they slipped and fell into a pool 30 metres below.”
According to the Vancouver Sun , the tragic accident occurred when Scraper, 29, slipped and fell off a pool and down the waterfall. Lyakh, who dated Scraper, and Gamble, both 30, died attempting to save their fellow globetrotter.
A fourth friend reportedly witnessed the waterfall mishap and raced down the mountain to call for help.
The bodies of Gamble, Lyakh, and Scraper were pulled out of the water on Wednesday. In a radio interview, John Wilcox, an official with the Squamish Search and Rescue, which attended the scene, spoke of the extreme conditions that characterize the waterfall.
“Areas like Shannon Falls have very polished granite, it’s very slippery with the mist and the lichen and etcetera that builds up around there-going in or near those pools has great risk,” he said. “It’s a very unfortunate circumstance hopefully we can all learn from.”
The British Columbia Coroners Service, which investigates all sudden and unexpected deaths in the province, is still looking into the deaths of the three vloggers.
On Friday, High On Life, a Vancouver-based YouTube channel Gamble and Lyakh co-founded in 2012, posted a tribute video. In it, a member says the following.
“There are truly no words that can be said to ease the pain and the devastation we are all going through right now. They were three of the warmest, kindest, most driven and outgoing people that you could ever meet and the world has lost a good deal of light with their passing.”
The 3:39-minute video has garnered nearly 850,000 views since it went live.
The group has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the memorial services and cover the travel expenses of the families of the deceased. In a day, it has collected $8,200 of the stated goal of $50,000, which will also help establish a Legacy Fund to empower others to pursue their dreams and aspirations the way Gamble, Lyakh, and Scraper did.
