Near the Naluongkou Waterfall in the southern part of the Nan Taihang Mountains at the border of Shanxi and Henan provinces in China, a cliff-fall accident occurred recently. A male hiker fell from a cliff and was tragically found dead. Chinese media reported that the man fell from a height of about 200 meters.
According to a report by “The Red Star News” on June 19, on the afternoon of June 18, an accident occurred at a viewing platform opposite the Naluongkou Waterfall in the Nan Taihang Mountains, where a male hiker fell from a cliff edge. Following the incident, various netizens shared the news on social media platforms, attracting attention to the incident.
At the time of the incident, a witness identified as Mr. Li was located in the valley below the cliff. He informed the media that he looked up and saw a man with a blue backpack falling from above, hitting and breaking a pine tree on the cliff wall before continuing to fall downwards. Mr. Li immediately called for help and provided on-site pictures to rescue personnel to assist in determining the location of the fall and the search area.
“The Red Star News” quoted a local village official as saying that after the man fell off the cliff, someone reported the incident promptly. After an extensive search, the man’s body was found at noon on June 19.
The village official mentioned that the cliff where the man fell is approximately 200 meters high on the Henan side. Although the incident occurred near a well-known hiking area in the Nan Taihang region, it is undeveloped and not part of a regular tourist spot. The complex terrain and difficult accessibility underneath the cliff make it challenging for rescue operations.
Public records indicate that the Nan Taihang region usually refers to the southern section of the Taihang Mountains, located at the border between Shanxi and Henan provinces, characterized by canyons, cliffs, waterfalls, and other geographical features. The Naluongkou Waterfall, where the accident occurred, is situated in the Nan Taihang area, with Bao Du village in Lingchuan County, Shanxi above the waterfall, and the Fenghuang Grand Canyon in Baligou, Huixian County, Henan below. In recent years, this area has attracted many outdoor hikers and photography enthusiasts.
Local media reports mentioned that the incident area is categorized as an undeveloped “wild trail.” Rescue workers explained that the canyon on-site is deep, the terrain at the bottom of the cliff is intricate, there is weak signal reception in the mountains, and scattered rocks, all of which pose difficulties for search and rescue operations.
Additionally, according to “Dahe News,” the viewing platform where the incident occurred is a well-known “popular spot” within the hiking enthusiast community, attracting hikers from various locations for photo opportunities. The spot is part of an undeveloped wild trail platform without protective guardrails, with nearly vertical red rock cliffs on the outer side, leading to several cliff-fall incidents in recent years.
“The Red Star News” reported that in October 2025, a male university student accidentally fell off the cliff while taking photos at the same location. His body was later retrieved by rescue teams from a pool of water below. In March 2026, a 29-year-old man from Guangdong who had gone missing during a hike in the Nan Taihang Mountains was found twenty days later, and it took rescuers approximately ten hours to carry his body down the mountain.
Following this cliff-fall incident, related news spread across the internet, sparking discussions on the safety risks of undeveloped wild trails, the trend of popular photo spots for hikers, and outdoor rescue resources. Some netizens expressed concerns that some hikers focus too much on “checking off” locations and overlook the risks in undeveloped areas, while others believed that it is saddening to lose lives and cautioned against excessive blame on the victims.