Tourist dies in Daintree rainforest zipline accident
A man has died and a woman was seriously injured after they plunged from a jungle zipline ride in far north Queensland.
The couple were harnessed together on the flying fox zipline at Jungle Surfing Canopy in the Daintree rainforest when the accident occurred.
Adelaide resident Dean Sanderson, 50, died at the scene while his wife Shannon, 48, was airlifted to the Cairns hospital in a serious condition.
She suffered shoulder, arm and pelvic injuries.
"It will be thoroughly investigated by Workplace Health & Safety, which will receive our full cooperation. We are offering counselling to staff and to our patrons," said Phoebe Kitto, a director of Jungle Surfing.
American couple Samantha Salyer and Joseph Maghe said they witnessed the tragedy.
"There was a loud noise, we turned around, one of the lines had snapped and we saw them fall. It shook the entire tree we were on. They hung there, then they both came down at the same time," they told the Seven Network.
Fifteen years ago an English tourist suffered permanent brain damage after falling off the same zipline ride.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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