Death fall family 'had left path'

Published on Sunday 19 July 2009 22:15

A FATHER and his three-year-old daughter who died after plunging 50 feet into a river had ventured off a sightseeing path before the tragedy.

The 33-year-old and his little girl were found dead around an hour after they fell from the Nantcol waterfall beauty spot in Llanbedr, near Harlech, North Wales.

The victims, from Manchester, were part of a family of four adults and two children who were sightseeing while on holiday at the nearby Shell Island campsite. It is believed the pair had left the signposted track around the waterfall and stepped into an unsafe area. They plunged into a five-metre deep pool of freezing water.

A massive underwater search was launched, assisted by two amateur divers and a heat-seeking scanner onboard the North Wales Police helicopter.

Aled Morgan Jones, the owner of Nantcol Waterfall, said: "As soon as I realised where they had fallen from, I knew there was no hope at all. The mother was distraught, she was being sick."

He added: "I don't know what happened and I'm waiting for the police to report what they have found.

"It is horrible, shocking and very upsetting for everybody."

Diver Richard Workman, who also runs the campsite, rushed to help when he saw the police helicopter. Mr Workman and colleague James Hordley, 21, have been diving for just two years.

He said: "James and I offered to get into our diving gear and help with the search and police said yes. We were out there for about an hour."

A spokeswoman for North Wales Police said a joint investigation with Gwynnedd Council was taking place.