16-Year-Old American Girl Dies After Falling Over 300 Feet During a Sightseeing Walk in Switzerland

A 16-year-old American girl passed away after stumbling and falling more than 300 feet down an embankment during a sightseeing walk in Switzerland, authorities reported on Monday.

16-Year-Old American Girl Dies After Falling During Sightseeing Walk

First responders discovered the girl's body near the Trient River, below a popular walking path, according to a declaration from police in the Valais district.

According to police, the teenager, whose identity remains undisclosed, was with her best friend and the friend's family when she fell on Sunday morning. The friend's father became stuck on a rock wall while trying to help her but was saved unhurt, according to the police.

The emergency response involved two helicopter crews, two regional rescue teams, and emergency psychologists. No other wounded were reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Switzerland and Liechtenstein has not yet answered requests for data. The local prosecutor's office, in cooperation with Valais police, has initiated an inspection into the cause of the girl's fall.

The circumstances happened around 10:30 a.m. in the Gorges Mystérieuses à Tête Noire area, a well-known spot for international hikers near the French border, about 90 miles northwest of the Matterhorn.

The Swiss tourism agency described the Tête-Noire pathway, dating back to 1884, as featuring stone steps and footbridges descending about three-quarters of a mile to the gorge's bottom. The walk offers views of "idyllic waterfalls" and the Grotte aux Nymphes, a natural cathedral formed by giant rock slabs.

Despite being considered safe for visitors as young as six, the path is not wheelchair accessible or suitable for those with physical disabilities.

Valais has experienced dangerous conditions this spring. Police reported that in April, three skiers, including a 15-year-old American boy, were killed in an avalanche on the slopes of Riffelberg near the Matterhorn.

Ongoing Investigators Into the 16-Year-Old American Girl's Fall

Police and the prosecutor's office have initiated an inspection into her passing away. The group of American tourists began their hike along the trail in the Gorges Mystérieuses around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

First responders were summoned to the trail after the girl fell. Investigators are working to determine why she fell, but they believe she tripped. Two Air Glaciers helicopters, the Cantonal Valais Rescue Organization, the Muveran-Trient rescue team, and emergency psychologists responded to the accident.

The identities of the victim and the family she was hiking with have not been made public.

This incident follows the discovery of the body of Captain Sean Thomas, a missing Canadian soldier, who was presumed dead after getting caught in an avalanche in April.

Thomas, 30, was one of three people killed in a snow collapse near a popular ski resort in Zermatt, about 73 miles from Trient.

Thomas, an Infantry Officer with the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada, was on leave from a Middle Eastern operation. His body was discovered on May 10 by an off-duty Swiss police officer hiking in the area. Thomas' girlfriend, Nicole 'Nikki' Nagy, 25, along with two others, including a 15-year-old boy from Illinois, also perished in the avalanche.