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Thread: Louise Benson (37) and her boyfriend Michael Kearns (33) died after they fell 100 feet while trying to take a selfie in Portugal

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    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    Louise Benson (37) and her boyfriend Michael Kearns (33) died after they fell 100 feet while trying to take a selfie in Portugal

    AN AUSTRALIAN has died after falling from a lookout at a popular beach in Portugal, according to reports.

    A man and woman were taking selfies from a wall overlooking the beach when they lost their balance and fell about 30 metres, local media reported.

    It is not clear which of the pair was Australian.

    The incident reportedly happened early Tuesday morning, local time, at Pescadores beach in the coastal town of Ericeira, a popular surfing spot about 30 kilometres from Lisbon.

    The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told news.com.au it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Portugal.

    Rui Pereira da Terra, head of the rescue service in Cascais port, near Lisbon, said it appeared the pair was taking a selfie when the tragedy happened.

    ?Everything seems to indicate that the fall happened when they were probably trying to take a selfie,? he told AFP.

    ?It seems they dropped their mobile phone and fell down while leaning over to retrieve it.?

    The Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported the couple was a woman aged in her 30s and a man in his 40s.

    They were found dead on the beach by a worker cleaning the beach. It is believed the incident happened between 1am and 6am on Tuesday.

    The Australian Embassy in Lisbon was notified about the death, the agency reported.

    This is not the first time tourists have fallen from the wall near the beach, known as Praia dos Pescadores or Fishermans Beach, AFP reports.

    https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...fcab39b3786fdb




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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    They must've been trying to get an ocean sunrise pic.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-1...artner/9868262

    Portugal cliff fall victims named as Perth man Michael Kearns and partner Louise Benson
    Updated 4 minutes ago

    Perth man Michael Kearns, 33, and his British partner Louise Benson stand in a park posing for a photo and smiling.

    PHOTO: Louise Benson and Michael Kearns may have been trying to get a selfie, rescuers say. (Facebook: Kathy Kearns)

    The mother of a Perth man who died with his English girlfriend when they fell from a beach cliff in Portugal has told friends of the "tragic accident" which claimed the couple's lives.

    Michael Kearns, 33, and Louise Benson, also aged in her 30s, have been identified as the couple who plunged more than 30 metres to their deaths between 1:00am and 6:00am on Tuesday after falling from a beach wall in the seaside town of Ericeira.

    "It is with a heavy heart I have to announce that Michael and Louise were taken from us in a tragic accident in Portugal," Mr Kearns' mother Kathy posted on Facebook, alongside a photo of the couple.

    "Will be greatly missed by all of us who love them."

    Local rescue service captain Rui Pereira da Terra told Portuguese news agency Lusa how a mobile phone was found resting on the wall, suggesting a fatal photography mishap.

    "It seems that [the victims] might be getting a 'selfie', when they let the phone fall, leaned over to grab it and fell," he was quoted as saying.


    Couple were in Portugal for wedding


    The couple left Australia in January on holiday and had gone to a friend's wedding in Portugal recently, it was reported



    Mr Kearns's mother is expected to travel to Portugal to bring her son's body home.

    The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to "the family of an Australian who died in Portugal".

    "The Department has been in contact with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding the other person who died in the incident," DFAT said in a statement on Wednesday.

    Ericeira is a popular surfing and fishing town about 35 kilometres north-west of the capital Lisbon.

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