Couple plunges to death at Yosemite cliff popular for proposals

A couple fell to their deaths from a popular overlook at Yosemite National Park just a week after a photographer captured an engagement photo. Photo / Twitter

A couple fell to their deaths from a popular overlook at Yosemite National Park just a week after a photographer captured a proposal photo over the same viewpoint.

Park rangers were trying to recover the bodies of a man and a woman Thursday, spokesman Scott Gediman said. As of Thursday evening, their identities had not been released.

Gediman didn't say when the couple fell from Taft Point, which is at an elevation of 7,500 feet and one of the park's most popular attractions, reports Daily Mail.

Gediman said railings only exist at some parts of the overlook and offered no other information. Officials said the deaths are being investigated.

Taft Point is very popular for couples to visit and take in the stunning views. It's also a very popular for engagements.

Just last week, photographer, Matthew Dippel, snapped an engagement photo of two strangers on Taft Point.

The photo went viral after Dippel turned to social media for help with tracking them down.

The picture shows the exact moment a man got down on his knee to propose to the woman he was with as they stood next to the cliff edge.

Twitter help, idk who these two are but I hope this finds them. I took this at Taft Point at Yosemite National Park, on October 6th, 2018. pic.twitter.com/Rdzy0QqFbY

— Matthew Dippel (@TheCornChips) October 17, 2018

The couple's deaths brought the total of fatalities in the park over the last six months to eight.

Last month, an Israeli teenager visiting the park fell hundreds of feet to his death while hiking near the top of 600-foot-tall Nevada Fall.

The death of 18-year-old Tomer Frankfurter was considered an accident, the Mariposa County coroner's office said.

Taft Point is also where world-famous wingsuit flier Dean Potter and his partner, Graham Hunt, died after leaping from the cliff in 2015.

The pair experienced at flying in wingsuits - the most extreme form of BASE jumping - crashed after attempting to clear a V-shaped notch in a ridgeline.

BASE jumping - which stands for jumping off buildings, antennas, spans (such as bridges) and Earth - is illegal in the park.

An investigation concluded that the deaths were accidental.

Despite video and photos of the jump, officials consider the specific reason why Potter and Hunt died a mystery.