Officials on South Korea's Jeju Island have suspended night-time viewing at one of its best-known waterfalls after a tourist died following a fall into the water reportedly while taking photos.
The Seogwipo city government has cordoned off the area around Cheonjiyeon Falls and closed the site to night visitors, who could previously enter until 10pm, through the end of September.
The city said it would consider reinforcing safety facilities and whether to resume night opening once police findings are available.
The man, in his 50s, fell about 2m (6.5ft) into the pool beneath the falls at about 8.32pm local time (11.32am GMT) on Saturday while taking photos, according to local media reports. He was pulled from the water in cardiac arrest about 10 minutes later and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Jeju's fire and safety headquarters said rescuers entered the water and performed CPR as he was taken to hospital. Other visitors reportedly threw a life ring, but it did not lead to an immediate rescue.
Police are reviewing CCTV footage and witness statements and considering an autopsy to determine the cause of death. It has not yet been established whether the man fell from the normal viewing route or had entered a restricted area, or whether any fault in the facilities or their management contributed.
Cheonjiyeon, one of Jeju's three major waterfalls, is about 22m (72ft) high, with a pool about 20m (66ft) deep. The site is open until 10pm, with last admission at 9.20pm, so the fall happened during normal hours.
City officials have said it draws about one million visitors a year, and the accident came at the end of the Chuseok holiday, South Korea's harvest festival.
Night viewing resumed on 11 May after an 840 million won (about £460,000) overhaul of the lighting, the first since night viewing was introduced in 1984.
Night visits have risen since, with 12,535 people visiting after dark in July, up 32.3 per cent on a year earlier, according to figures reported by the World News Agency, a South Korean outlet.
South Korea's Financial News reported that warning signs about the risk of falls, a lifesaving equipment box and life rings had been installed around the site. The Seoul Shinmun newspaper reported that it was the first fatal fall at the falls since admission fees were introduced in the 1970s.
A 65-year-old man died in April after falling about 2.5m from a viewing platform inside Hwanseongul, a cave in Samcheok, in South Korea's Gangwon province.
On Jeju, a man in his 50s suffered a head injury and multiple fractures in November 2023 after falling from a cliff at Oedolgae Rock, a popular photo spot, while trying to photograph himself, the Korea Herald reported, citing the Seogwipo Coast Guard.
