Cops in Australia assigned to monitor tourists taking selfies near dangerous cliff
02 August, 2018
Cops in Australia have been forced to patrol a dangerous cliff edge in a bid to stop tourists risking their life for the perfect selfie.
Tourists have been jumping the fence at the Wedding Cake Rock in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, to take photographs next to the 160-foot drop.
Now police have answered a call to deploy officers because they fear it is only a matter of time before someone falls — or the actual cliff face collapses with them into the sea.
Anyone would caught jumping the fence now risks the equivalent of a $2,300 fine.
New South Wales Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) called in the cops amid a craze on social media for taking dangerous selfies by posing at the edge.
A NPWS spokesperson told ABC News: “It is extremely difficult to try to regulate this behaviour when people are intent on ignoring the signage.
“The need to climb a 1.6 metre (5-foot) high fence makes it impossible for people to be unaware of the extreme danger.”
The rock is fenced off with warning signs after a safety report concluded the cliff face could collapse at any moment.
The national park’s website warns visitors reminding of the high risks if they jump the fence to take their photos and requesting them to not ignore the signs.
“The white color is caused by iron leaching, which makes the sandstone layers dangerously soft, prone to cracking and at very high risk of collapse. Please stay behind the fenced off areas. Standing or sitting on the rock or cliff edges poses a very high safety risk.
“For your safety, please don't stand or sit on the rock, or venture too close to cliff edges.”
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