A 60-year-old Canadian tourist has died after falling on the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. He disappeared on Monday (17) in turbulent waters, in the Salto Bossetti lookout area, in the Argentine state of Misiones, and his body was found today, on the Brazilian side of the river, near the Tancredo Neves bridge , in Foz do Iguaçu (PR). Police are still investigating the circumstances of the death; among the possibilities, he lost his balance trying to take a selfie.
The municipal director of the tourist entity of Iguaçu, Marcelo Gione, confirmed this morning to the Argentine television channel Cadena 3 that the body had been rescued.
“Indeed, yesterday we learned from the photos and videos that were sent to us that the body belongs to the person who threw himself. It is a regrettable fact, it is now in the hands of Justice to investigate under what circumstances this person fell into the water. We must act with caution until justice determines the true causes of the accident, “he commented.
It remains to be seen if he accidentally fell into the water while trying to take a selfie or if he dived on purpose. But the Argentine police have already confirmed that he was not part of the group accompanied by Héctor Ball, the head of the rangers.
Several visitors alerted guides to the man’s fall. Despite the tragic fact, the tours were not canceled. Argentinian rescue teams immediately began the search, but work has been hampered by heavy rains that have been battering the area since last week, when the walkway over Iguaçu Falls in Paraná was closed for three days.
On Thursday (13), the second largest water volume of the falls in history was recorded. On this date, the flow reached 16.5 million liters of water per second, ie 11 times more than the annual average of 1.5 million.
According to the Argentine website La Voz del Interior, workers from a company that organizes nautical excursions on the Brazilian side of the falls have found the body of the tourist. They notified the military police, whose officers removed the body from the water.
Investigation
According to an investigation by the State Police of Misiones, the man was in a hotel near Iguazú National Park, on the Argentine side, and asked for a taxi to take him to the falls.
Witnesses said that the tourist climbed the railing of the footbridge and fell into the waters, at the height of the Mirante do Salto Bosetti, one of the falls of the Iguazu Falls, Argentinian side, disappearing afterwards.
Members of the Brazilian Fire Department and the Forensic Medical Institute were at the location where the body was found. According to the Argentine police, the Brazilian justice will be in charge of the investigation, since the body was found on the Brazilian side of the falls.
The Paraná Forensic Police said in a statement that they were working with the Police Identification Institute to identify the body found in the Iguaçu River and rescued by firefighters this morning. The Argentine authorities reported the disappearance of a citizen and sent documents for papilloscopic verification.
To confirm the identification of the Canadian tourist, the Canadian consulate in Brazil is also investigating the documents that may help identify the body held by the Paraná police.
