Singapore woman who fell to death at Blue Mountains had slipped
Singaporean falls to her death at Australian waterfall.
She knew the dangers of hiking in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia.
After all, Miss Cheng Shi Min, an undergraduate at Macquarie University, had trekked the Valley of the Waters trail before.
"This trek is definitely not for the faint-hearted... The trail is not always distinct," the 21-year-old Singapore woman wrote in a blog post on Jan 9 last year, after she embarked on Wentworth Pass, a route that led her to the Valley of the Waters trail.
Little did she know, the same trail she wrote about would cost Miss Cheng her life over a year later.
At about 1pm on Tuesday, Miss Cheng, who was hiking with her father, boyfriend and a family friend, slipped and fell 20m down a waterfall called the Empress Falls.
It left her with a bloodied head and chest injuries.
New South Wales police said "emergency services were contacted after a woman fell while walking on the Valley of the Waters track at Wentworth Falls".
The rescue team dispatched to save Miss Cheng, who was studying to be a teacher, was hampered by bad weather that prevented the helicopter from airlifting her from the scene, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
Police confirmed the rescue personnel resorted to carrying her on a stretcher, arriving six hours later at the Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls where an ambulance was waiting.
The police said: "The group reached the Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls just before 8pm."
SCREAM
Miss Cheng's boyfriend, Mr Henry Yendle, told the Australian press the accident happened because she "lost her footing and slipped while trying to look over the edge of a waterfall".
"First, I sort of just heard a scream and then a loud bang," said Mr Yendle.
He rushed to the foot of the waterfall along with Miss Cheng's father, and they found her lying in the shallow part of Empress Falls.
"I rushed down with her father as quickly as we could. I tossed basically everything out of my pockets and jumped into the pool and found her lying face-down in the water," said Mr Yendle.
"I flipped her over as quickly as possible and tried to pull her out."
Other visitors also jumped in to save the young woman.
Mr Yendle (below), who had reportedly dated Miss Cheng for two months, added: "I couldn't pull her onto the ledge, so her dad and a German couple helped to get her out."
In a blog post, Miss Cheng had deemed the trails on Wentworth Falls - of which Valley of the Waters is one - "much more dangerous" after her first experience.
She jokingly added: "If I trip, that's it. I'm going to fall down the valley.
"Being alone, that's a little... worrying. So always say hello and hope people remember you if there's ever a 'have-you-seen-this-person search'."
Mr Yendle added that after she was pulled out, Miss Cheng "was murmuring and really out of it, she was unconscious the entire time".
She was later rushed to Westmead Hospital in critical condition.
Yesterday morning, New South Wales police confirmed that Miss Cheng had died from her injuries.
In her last blog post on Monday, Miss Cheng detailed her excitement of going on the hiking trip.
She wrote: "Harry has taken the day off from work, which I am super grateful for, to join us in going up to blue mountains.
"Which is amazing. Because he doesn't have to, but he's been nothing short of sweet.
"Taking time off to care not only for me, but for my dad and the friend that's here."
A classmate from her university told The New Paper that Miss Cheng was a "chirpy and happy girl" who lived by her blog's tag line of "life is short, smile and be happy".
I tossed basically everything out of my pockets and jumped in the pool and found her lying face-down in the water.
- Miss Cheng's boyfriend Henry Yendle
ABOUT THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
The Blue Mountains saw 102,000 international overnight visitors last year, reported Destination NSW.
Visitors from Asia made up about 22.3 per cent.
The tourism report said that while most were there for holiday, others were visiting friends and family, or on business.
Bushwalking and rainforest walks were the third most popular activities for visitors at the Blue Mountains, the report said.
While the destination remains a popular destination for Australians and visitors from around the world, the site has seen a few fatalities.
In 2008, a woman died after she slipped from the Valley of the Waters trail. A helicopter and specialist rescue team rushed to her aid, but she died.
In 2005, Australian Defence Force pilot Matthew Donovan, 31, and his brother James, a policeman from Melbourne, were with a group of friends in the valley when they got trapped by floodwaters.
Mr Donovan jumped into the water to help his brother and friends, but was washed away and killed.
In 2013, British tourist Josh Furber fell 90m to his death at the nearby Wentworth Falls.
New South Wales police said Mr Furber, an undergraduate, had travelled with friends from Sydney, where he was working as a barman at Bondi Beach.
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