View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/west/2011/07/21/188507.htm
A man who saw three people swept over a raging waterfall in Yosemite National Park says they ignored warning signs and crossed a barricade to pose for photographs.
Jake Bibee described a chaotic scene when he and a friend hiked to the top of Vernal Falls Tuesday.
At first he saw a man on the far side of the safety railing next to the 317-foot (97-meter) falls holding a screaming girl while another young girl took their photograph.
Two others in their party then crossed the barricade to pose for photos on a rock 50 feet (15 meters) upstream from the falls. He said the woman on the rock slipped and the man fell in trying to reach her. Another woman also fell in trying to stop them.
Park officials are still working to recover the bodies and have not released their names.