3 days ago
Boy (12) died after losing balance following a slip at edge of Cliffs of Moher, inquest hears
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy died after he lost his balance when he slipped in a puddle close to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher before falling over the edge, an inquest has heard.
In eyewitness testimony at the Clare coroner's court into the accidental death of Zhihan Zhao at the Cliffs of Moher on 23 July 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 with his mother, Xianhong Huang, and her friends on the day. The two Chinese nationals had arrived in Ireland only 12 days earlier.
Last year, almost 1.5 million people visited the Cliffs of Moher, making it Ireland's most popular natural attraction. 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 asked what exactly caused her son to fall from the cliffs. Clare County Coroner, Isobel O'Dea told the mother that the evidence of French tourust Tourgon would answer that question.
In her deposition, 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 a young boy, who was alone, come into view.
She said: 'I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police.'
Tourgon added: '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.'
Tourgon added : '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 there were only a few people who saw the boy falling, and that her family alerted emergency services by phone.
Speaking through an interpreter, the boy's mother asked if he had slipped.
In reply, 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 that she started out from Nagle's car park in Liscannor to walk to the Cliffs of Moher with Zhihan and friends of hers.
She said: 'My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres'
Advertisement
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 couldn't find her son here, she walked back along the path to search for her son and after not finding him, she reported him missing.
She said that she last saw Zhihan at 1pm that day. She said that Zhihan was a fluent English speaker and described the clothes that Zhihan was wearing that day including black shorts, Nike Air Jordans, an LA Lakers wristband and a kid's smart-watch.
Garda Seargent Claire McGuigan said that on the day, Ms Huang was able to provide a photo of Zhihan she had 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.
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.
His body was found in the water between Doolin and the Aran Islands shortly after 10am on Sunday, 28 July 2024.
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.
O'Dea said that the post-mortem found that Zhihan died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a fall from a height. 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 the mother: 'I can't imagine how upsetting this is for you.'
The two embraced as Huang left the coroner's court in Kilrush. O'Dea also extended her sympathies to Zhihan's father, who was not present at the inquest.
Addressing Ms Huang, Inspector Costello said: 'The pain must be immeasurable for you all.'
Ms Huang declined to comment on the record when approached after the inquest.
The Clare Local Development Company closed off large sections of part of the Cliffs of Moher trail in August last year, and it remains closed off 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.
