Teen Falls 800 Feet to His Death from California Cliff While Trying to Take Selfie: Report
A teen visiting Yosemite National Park from Jerusalem on Tuesday fell more than 800 ft. to his death from a massive cliff while trying to take a selfie, reports say.
Tomer Frankfurter, 18, was reportedly trying to a selfie near the park’s popular Nevada Fall when he lost his balance and fell about 820 feet to his death, the boy’s mother told the Times of Israel. Frankfurter was on a two-month trip in the U.S., his mother told an Israeli news station, according to the Times.
Nevada Fall, in Yosemite Valley, is nearly 600 ft. and is located just below the granite dome Liberty Cap.
RELATED VIDEO: Best Friends Fall to Their Deaths While Rock Climbing in Yosemite National Park
Neither park officials nor the Mariposa County coroner’s office responded to a request for comment from PEOPLE. The Israel Foreign Ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.
The valley had just reopened on Aug. 14 after it was closed for weeks due to a wildfire, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The tragedy comes about three months after friends and experienced rock climbers Tim Klein, 42, and Jason Wells, 46, fell 1,000 ft. to their deaths while climbing El Capitan, a massive rock formation at Yosemite National Park.
Klein’s wife, JJ Klein, said that he and Wells fell from the rock after a haul bag from climbers above fell onto the pair on June 2. Park rangers received several 911 calls after the incident and rescue teams found the men dead at the scene, according to the NPS.
“They’ve done it over 70 times together,” JJ previously told PEOPLE, referring to the rock. “It takes most people three to five days to make it to the top … There were five occasions where they had the endurance to climb it twice in a day.”
She added, “Even on an easy climb they were always very safe. They both fell. The rope was severed when they found them.”
