Israeli teen dies after falling off cliff in Yosemite when taking selfie

Mother says Jerusalem resident slipped while trying to take photo at California park

In this July 24, 2018, file photo, Francisco Avendano, visiting from Madrid, Spain, photographs Half Dome as smoke from the Ferguson Fire hangs over Yosemite National Park, Calif. (AP/Noah Berger)
In this July 24, 2018, file photo, Francisco Avendano, visiting from Madrid, Spain, photographs Half Dome as smoke from the Ferguson Fire hangs over Yosemite National Park, Calif. (AP/Noah Berger)

An Israeli hiker was found dead in Yosemite National Park in California on Wednesday after apparently falling to his death while trying to take a selfie.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Tomer Frankfurter, a Jerusalem resident, 18, had been found and his body was being brought to Israel for burial.

Frankfurter was on a two-month trip to the US, his mother told Israel’s Channel 10 news.

She said that authorities told her that he tried to take a selfie but apparently slipped and fell from a height of 250 meters (820 feet).

The US National Parks Service Police did not respond to a request for comment.

In June, two experienced climbers died while trying to scale Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan rock formation.

Another hiker died in May while climbing Half Dome peak in the park.

The park only recently re-opened after being closed for several weeks while devastating wildfires ripped through California.

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