Two teenagers have died at popular Wappa Falls on the Sunshine Coast. A 17-year-old girl was swimming in the area when she was swept downstream and over the waterfall, while a boy died trying to save her. Josh Dye reports.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It was a Sunday afternoon adventure that turned into a horrible tragedy.
00:07Two 17-year-olds had been spending the day together here at Whopper Falls, relaxing in
00:12the calmer waters upstream.
00:14At about 2.30pm, the girl was swept down by the rapids and swept over the falls.
00:20When she failed to resurface, her friend jumped in to try and look for her.
00:25When he also didn't come up, a major search and rescue operation began.
00:29There was a significant presence of emergency services, with police divers leading the search.
00:34Police say the girl's body was found about 3.30pm, and the search continued into the
00:39night.
00:40The boy's body was discovered and retrieved about 7.30pm.
00:44Whopper Falls is a very popular spot for swimming most of the year, but SEQ Water says the dam
00:50upstream from here was more than 102% full and spilling over the spillway.
00:56The area had received about 40mm of rain on Saturday night.
01:00The falls have seen several fatalities over the years, and authorities are urging people
01:05to take care around the waterhole this summer.
01:08Police will prepare a report for the coroner.