Car with someone inside found at bottom of popular NC waterfall, rescuers say
An unusual rescue was staged Saturday in western North Carolina, after a vehicle was discovered at the bottom of one of the state’s best known waterfalls.
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It happened at 60-foot Bridal Veil Falls in Nantahala National Forest, which cascades over the roadway into a pit near U.S. 64. The car somehow ended up at the bottom of that pit.
“Highlands Fire and Rescue was dispatched to Bridal Veil Falls for a reported vehicle over an embankment with unknown injuries and unknown entrapment. Upon arrival, crews located a vehicle that had traveled over the embankment and come to rest at the bottom of the falls,” rescuers said in a Sept. 19 Facebook post.
“One patient was found trapped inside the vehicle. Crews quickly stabilized the vehicle and began patient care and extrication operations. Firefighters worked alongside our EMS and law enforcement partners to safely remove the patient from the vehicle and transfer care to EMS.”
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The identity of the patient and their condition has not been released.
Photos show the vehicle landed on its wheels.
Investigators have not said how the SUV ended up under the waterfall, which is currently at diminished capacity due to the lack of rain.
Bridal Veil Falls was long known as a waterfall travelers could drive behind, due to its proximity to U.S. 64. However, the pavement behind the falls had been closed to vehicles for safety reasons, according to Romantic Asheville. Visitors are still allowed to walk behind the waterfall, the site reports.
The waterfall is near Highlands, about a 180-mile drive west from uptown Charlotte.
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