A Brazilian tourist jumped into the waters of Cataracts of Iguaçu, in Foz do Iguaçu (PR), to rescue a cell phone that had fallen this Saturday morning (6).
The place was full at the time of the incident and other visitors noted the man’s recklessness. He hung on the walkway next to one of the waterfalls, jumped, picked up the device and climbed back onto the structure.
The Urbia Cataratas concessionaire stated that the unit’s civil firefighters carried out immediate intervention, guided the visitor on safety procedures and accompanied him until the end of the tour, when he was removed from the Iguaçu National Park.
The park reinforced that it is expressly prohibited to go over, climb or sit on the guardrails, whether to take photos or retrieve objects, and highlighted that visitors receive safety instructions through the signage installed along the route and the emergency teams that work permanently in the unit.
“In cases of loss of belongings that fall into the river or on the slopes, the fire team may be called to assess the possibility of rescue, immediately or at a later time, depending on safety conditions”, he reinforced.
In April this year, a cleaning operation carried out in the park removed 383 kg of coins from the bed of the Iguaçu river.
The habit of throwing coins into the falls to make wishes or wishes has become a superstition among some visitors, but it is prohibited and causes environmental risks.
Glasses, bottles, caps and other personal objects dropped by visitors on the walkways and other points close to the water were also collected. Cleaning was carried out by a team from the concessionaire and by volunteers, using equipment such as helmets and rappelling ropes.
