World News – A tourist taking photos of crashing waves was swept off a cliff by a giant one in Ireland last week — a dramatic scene captured on video by an American student.
Brian Smith, who is studying in Ireland, said he and his fiancée rushed to an area where they could get phone service to call the coast guard following the incident. Many others rushed over to help rescue the woman, who was still conscious, he added.
“It was pretty scary at first,” Smith told NBC News Wednesday.
Irish media have identified the woman as Aparajita Gupta from India and said she was visiting the Aran Islands with her mother.
The area is popular with tourists who come to see the so-called “Worm Hole” — a natural rectangular pool at the bottom of the cliffs off Galway.
Gupta is now recovering in a Galway hospital. She shattered her left ankle and suffered some cuts and bruises in the fall, Eurovision reported.
“The water cushioned my fall so when I finally fell the impact wasn’t as great as it could have been,” Gupta told Eurovision. “And next to me there was a boulder and I held on to it,” she added.
A paramedic who happened to be at the scene will receive an award for bravery for helping rescue the woman, according to Eurovision.
— Becky Bratu, NBCNews.com
