Couple plunges to their deaths while taking selfie on vacation

A couple trying to take a selfie at a popular tourist spot in Portugal plunged nearly 100 feet to their deaths, authorities said.

Australian Michael Kearns, 33, and his British girlfriend Louise Benson, 37, were standing on a wall overlooking the picturesque Praia dos Pescadores beach in Ericeira early Tuesday, when their phone slipped, Perth Now reported.

Authorities think the pair reached out to grab the cellphone, lost their balance and fell 98 feet to the rocky beach below.

“Everything seems to indicate that the fall happened when they were trying to take a selfie,” said Ruis Pereira da Terra, the head of the rescue service in Cascais port near Lisbon. “It seems they dropped their mobile phone and fell down while leaning over to retrieve it,” he added.

Fishermen in the area thought the pair was simply sleeping on the beach but discovered a “horror scene” when they approached, describing the couple’s bodies as “shattered” to local paper Journal de Noticias.

A beach cleaner then came upon the remains and alerted the authorities.

Officials recovered a phone near the wall that they believe belonged to the pair.

Kearns, a fly-in, fly-out worker and recreational diver, had left Australia in January on vacation with Benson, and attended a friend’s wedding in Portugal in recent weeks, according to his mother.

Benson worked at a nonprofit that raises awareness about the destruction of wildlife in oceans, according to her Facebook. Authorities are in touch with both families.

Tourists have plunged from the wall before and locals have asked for security measures to be implemented, according to the Telegraph UK.