Cliff Plunge

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday June 24, 2004

By MEGAN LEVY

A MASSIVE search-and-rescue mission was suspended late last night, seven hours after an American tourist plunged down a 70m cliff face near Bundanoon.

The 21-year-old was bushwalking in the Morton National Park with two friends when he lost his shoe and climbed under a safety fence to retrieve it just after 2pm.

The man is believed to have slipped on the other side of the fence, falling into rugged bushland below.

The man's friends, also believed to be tourists, did not see him fall but heard him cry out. When they turned around, he was gone.

The accident happened on a walking track leading to the Grand Canyon Lookout.

With the temperature expected to drop to two degrees in the Southern Highlands overnight, and the long drop, rescuers held grave fears for the man's safety.

Rescue helicopters used thermal imaging equipment earlier in the evening to try to locate the man in the thick scrub.

Police rescue officers abseiled down the cliff about 6pm and mounted a ground search, which was suspended about 9pm after concerns for rescuers' safety.

It was due to resume at 7am today.

Westpac Life Saver 3 Rescue Helicopter crewman Bruce Slinn, who was part of the team searching for the man, said the terrain near the lookout made the search difficult.

That chopper was called back to base when light faded.

"It's a very steep cliff and the bush below is very, very thick which makes it hard to spot anyone below," he said.

However Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman Colin Fraser said it was possible the man could have survived.

He said the man may have been trapped in a tree, with the tree line about 35m above the ground in the area.

"There is always hope. The cliff is also on a gradient of about 75-85 degrees, so there could be an area there where he could be lying injured."

Mr Fraser said the ground vegetation was extremely thick, and there were no walking tracks to the place where the man fell.