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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Boy fell to death after slip at Cliffs of Moher
A 12-year-old boy fell to his death at Ireland's Cliffs of Moher after slipping in a puddle close to the edge, an inquest has heard. Zhihan Zhao was with his mother and her friends at the beauty spot on the County Clare coast on 23 July last year when he walked ahead of the group. A French tourist who witnessed him fall told Clare Coroner's Court she saw him slip and try to pull himself up by grasping at grass, before he disappeared over the edge. The coroner embraced Zhihan's distraught mother after recording a verdict of accidental death. Zhihan and his mother, Xianhong Huang, both Chinese nationals, had arrived in Ireland 12 days before his fatal fall. In her deposition, Ms Huang said that Zhihan was walking ahead of her on the Cliffs of Moher trail and she lost sight of him. "My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres," she said. "As there was only one path, I thought we would meet him along the way. "When I didn't, I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre." Unable to find him at the visitor centre, she returned to the path to search for him and when there was no sign of him, she reported him missing. Ms Huang said she last saw Zhihan at 13:00 that day and the court heard she provided gardaí (Irish police) with a photo of him she had taken earlier on the trail. Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest in Kilrush, County Clare, Ms Huang, wiping away tears, asked: "What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the cliffs?" Clare County Coroner Isobel O'Dea told the grieving mother that the evidence of an eyewitness would help answer that question. French tourist, Marion Tourgon, told the inquest she witnessed Zhihan falling over the edge at about 13:45 that day. Ms Tourgon explained she was at the edge of the cliffs with her husband and two children and they were taking a selfie at the time. She describing seeing a young Asian boy, who was alone, come into view. "I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police," the witness said. "His right foot slipped into the puddle, with him trying to stop himself from falling with his left foot but his left foot ended up in the air." Ms Tourgon added: "It was very quick - he found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff." She continued: "His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. "He didn't shout and there was no noise." The Tourgon family then phoned the emergency services. An air, land and sea search operation began involving the Irish Coast Guard, gardaí, and Irish civil defence volunteers who used boats, drones, divers and a helicopter. A police witness, Garda Colm Collins, told the inquest he received a call at 14:00 that day after a male was seen falling off the edge of the Cliffs of Moher. He said that the Irish Coast Guard had spotted a body floating in the water at the base of the cliffs. The court heard a lifeboat was launched but it was was not able to access the site where the body was spotted due to the sea conditions. It was another five days before Zhihan's body was eventually recovered from the sea. The boy was found by a fisherman, Matthew O'Halloran, from Corofin, County Clare. He spotted a body facedown and arms extended in the water between Doolin and the Aran Islands shortly after 10:00 local time on 28 July 2024. Mr O'Halloran alerted the Irish Coast Guard and its members retrieved Zhihan's body and brought it ashore at Doolin. The coroner said post-mortem results had confirmed that Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. "It is clear from evidence we heard that Zhihan slipped off the cliffs rather than any other way. His death would have been very quick - instantaneous." Addressing the boy's mother, she said: "I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you." Ms O'Dea also extended her sympathies to Zhihan's father who was not present at the inquest. She embraced Ms Huang as she left the coroner's court. The accident was the second fatal fall at the Cliffs of Moher within a three-month period last year. In May 2024, a student in her 20s lost her footing while walking with friends and fell to her death. Since August last year, large sections of the Cliffs of Moher trail have been closed due to safety concerns. At the time, the Clare Local Development Company confirmed that it was taking the action following the two fatal accidents. Cliffs of Moher to be partially closed for rest of year Body found in search for boy who fell from cliffs Woman dies after falling from Cliffs of Moher
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Boy fell over edge at Cliffs of Moher after slipping, inquest told
A 12-year-old boy lost his balance after slipping in a puddle close to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher before falling to his death, an inquest has heard. In testimony at Clare Coroner's Court into the death of Zhihan Zhao on July 23, 2024, French tourist Marion Tourgon described seeing Zhihan fall over the edge at around 1.45pm on the day. Zhihan had set out on walking the Cliffs of Moher trail from the southern side towards the visitor centre with his mother, Xianhong Huang, and her friends. The two Chinese nationals had arrived in Ireland only 12 days previously. Ms Huang said Zhihan was walking ahead of her on the trail and she lost sight of him. Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest in Kilrush, Ms Huang asked: 'What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the cliffs?' Clare county coroner Isobel O'Dea told Ms Huang the evidence of Ms Tourgon would help answer that question. Ms Tourgon said she was at the edge of the cliffs with her husband and two children at around 1.45pm. They were taking a selfie when she saw a young Asian boy, who was alone, come into view. 'I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police," Ms Tourgon said. His right foot slipped into the puddle with him trying to stop himself from falling with his left foot, but his left foot ended up in the air 'It was very quick. He found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff. "His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff, and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. He didn't shout and there was no noise.' She said that 'it is the only the few of us who saw him falling'. One path The Tourgons alerted the emergency services by phone. Ms Huang asked: 'Did he slip?' In reply, Insp Helen Costello told her: 'It appears from the witness that he slipped into the void having stumbled in the puddle.' In her deposition, Ms Huang said she started out from Nagle's carpark in Liscannor with Zhihan and friends of hers. 'My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50m. As there was only one path, I thought we would meet him along the way. When I didn't, I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre." When she couldn't find her son, she walked back along the path to search for her son and after not finding him, she reported him missing. She said she last saw Zhihan at 1pm that day. She said Zhihan was a fluent English speaker. Sgt Claire McGuigan said Ms Huang was able to provide a photo of Zhihan she had taken taken earlier on the trail. Garda Colm Collins said he received a call that day at 2pm after a boy was seen falling off the cliff edge. He said the Irish Coast Guard spotted a body floating in the water at the base of the Cliffs of Moher. A lifeboat was launched, but it was not able to access the site where the body was spotted due to the sea conditions. Autopsy Zhihan's body would not be recovered for another five days. Fisherman Matthew O'Halloran, from Corofin, spotted a body in the water between Doolin and the Aran Islands shortly after 10am on July 28. He alerted the coastguard at Valentia and members of the Doolin unit retrieved Zhihan's body from the waters and brought it ashore. Ms O'Dea said the autopsy found Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Ms O'Dea said her verdict was one of accidental death. 'It is clear from evidence we heard that Zhihan slipped off the cliffs rather than any other way. His death would have been very quick, instantaneous." Ms O'Dea told Ms Huang: 'I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you." The two embraced as Ms Huang left the Coroner's Court. Ms O'Dea also extended her sympathies to Zhihan's father, who was not present. On August 22, the Clare Local Development Company closed off large sections of part of the Cliffs of Moher trail and it remains closed off today due to continuing safety concerns. In May 2024, a student in her early 20s from Belgium died after she fell from the Cliffs of Moher.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
Death of boy, 12 , who fell from Cliffs of Moher ruled accidental at inquest
A 12-year old boy lost his balance after slipping in a puddle close to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher before falling over the edge to his death, an inquest has heard as it returned a verdict of accidental death. In eye-witness testimony at the Clare Coroner's Court into the accidental death of Zhihan Zhao at the Cliffs of Moher on 23 July last year, French tourist, Marion Tourgon described seeing Zhihan fall over the edge at around 1.45pm on the day. Zhihan had set out on walking the Cliffs of Moher trail from Hag's Head on the Liscannor side or southern side of the Cliffs of Moher to the visitor centre with his mother, Xianhong Huang and her friends. The two Chinese nationals had arrived in Ireland only 12 days previous. In her deposition, Ms Huang said that Zhihan was walking ahead of her on the Cliffs of Moher trail and she lost sight of him. Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest in Kilrush, Co Clare, Ms Huang wiping away tears, asked: "What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the Cliffs?" Clare County Coroner, Isobel O'Dea told the distraught Ms Huang that the evidence of Ms Tourgon would help answer that question. In her deposition, Ms Tourgon said that she was at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher with her husband and two children at around 1.45pm. She said that they were taking a selfie when she saw a young Asian boy, who was alone, come into view. Ms Tourgon said: "I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police." Ms Tourgon said: "His right foot slipped into the puddle with him trying to stop himself from falling with his left foot but his left foot ended up in the air." She said: "It was very quick - he found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff." Ms Tourgon said: "His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. He didn't shout and there was no noise." She said that "it is only the few of us who saw him falling" and the Tourgons alerted the emergency services by phone. Speaking again through an interpreter, Ms Huang asked "did he slip?" and in reply, Garda Inspector Helen Costello told her: "It appears from the witness that he slipped into the void having stumbled in the puddle." In her deposition, Ms Huang said her walked very fast and "was ahead of the group by about 50 metres. She said: "As there was only one path I thought we would meet him along the way. When I didn't I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre." When she could not find her son here, she walked back along the path to search for her son and after not finding him, she reported him missing. Sgt Claire McGuigan said that on the day, Ms Huang was able to provide a photo of Zhihan she had taken taken earlier on the Cliffs of Moher trail. Garda Colm Collins said that he received a call that day at 2pm to attend the Cliffs of Moher after a male was seen falling off the cliff edge. He said that the Irish Coastguard had spotted a body floating in the water at the base of the Cliffs of Moher. Garda Collins said that a lifeboat was launched but the craft was not able to access the site where the body was spotted due to the sea conditions. Zhihan's body would not be recovered from the sea for another five days and was recovered after fisherman, Matthew O'Halloran from Corofin, Co Clare spotted a body facedown and arms extended in the water between Doolin and the Aran Islands shortly after 10am on Sunday, 28 July. Mr O'Halloran alerted the Irish coastguard at Valentia and members of the Doolin unit of the Irish coastguard retrieved Zhihan's body from the waters and brought it ashore at Doolin. Ms O'Dea said that the post-mortem examination found that Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. Ms O'Dea said her verdict was one of "accidental death". She said: "It is clear from evidence we heard that Zhihan slipped off the Cliffs rather than any other way. His death would have been very quick - instantaneous." Ms O'Dea told Ms Huang "I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you" and the two embraced as Ms Huang left the coroner's court in Kilrush. Ms O'Dea also extended her sympathies to Zhihan's father who was not present at the inquest. Ms Huang declined to comment on the record when approached for comment after the inquest. On 22 August last year, the Clare Local Development Company closed off large sections of part of the Cliffs of Moher trail and it remains closed today due to continuing safety concerns. At the time, the Clare Local Development Company confirmed that it was taking the action following the two recent fatal accidents on the Cliffs of Moher trail. In May 2024, a young woman died after she fell from the Cliffs of Moher. She was in her early 20s and a college student from Belgium who was studying in Scotland.
