A photo of a couple posing at Niagara Falls has resurfaced on the Internet.
If you don’t know the story behind it, you might think it’s a simple love photo of two lovebirds, one of whom is Batman… or at least wears a replica of the superhero emblem on his t-shirt.
In fact, it is much more worrying.
Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. (Getty image)
Let’s rewind to 2011, more precisely to August 14th.
Japanese student Ayano Tokumasu visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with her classmates from the Hansa Language Centre in Toronto.
She posed for a photo taken by her friend, but decided to cross the boundaries and sit on the security barrier – believing it would make for a better photo.
Police, who were studying surveillance footage from the nearby visitor center, witnessed the incident.
The 20-year-old held an umbrella in his hand as he sat with one leg on either side of the armrest, looking down at the falls.
But as she tried to climb back over the railing, tragedy struck: she appeared to lose her balance and slipped into the water at the edge of Horseshoe Falls and then into the water below.
A couple poses for a photo while Tokumasu, wearing a red sweater, is seen straddling the railing behind them. (r/lastimages/Reddit)
Tokumasu’s body was discovered floating on the New York side of the lower Niagara River at 10 a.m. four days later by employees of the Cave of the Winds park attraction.
Niagara Parks Police Chief Doug Kane said at the time: “We have received information from the State Parks Police confirming that the remains found yesterday are those of the missing student who fell into the river last Sunday.”
Her family chose not to speak publicly about the incident, although Masaya Otsuka, a diplomat at the Japanese Consulate General in Toronto, spoke on her behalf.
Otsuka told the Toronto Star: “Of course this is a great tragedy for the family as well.
Ayano Tokumasu was from Toyohashi, a city in Japan. (Facebook)
“The family is suffering a great shock.”
According to her Facebook profile, Tokumasu was from Toyohashi, which is about 250 kilometers southwest of Japan’s capital Tokyo.
Tokumasu was not the last fatality under the falls.
In 2017, Kirk Jones died on the US side of the water when he attempted to descend into an inflatable ball, but unfortunately fell out and died.
Jones decided to descend after becoming the first person to survive the falls without any assistance on October 22, 2003.
