‘NRI couple who died in US' Yosemite Park fell taking a selfie’

Agencies
October 31, 2018

New York, Oct 31: The Indian couple who died after falling 800 feet in an area with steep terrain in California's Yosemite National Park last week were apparently taking a selfie before the tragedy occurred, a media report said.

Vishnu Viswanath, 29, and Meenakshi Moorthy, 30 fell to their deaths from Taft Point in the national park in California. They were identified on Monday as the married couple from India living in the United States.

A report in Fox News cited Mr Viswanath's brother Jishnu Viswanath as saying that they were apparently taking a selfie.  The popular viewpoint in the California park does not have a railing to protect visitors from the ledge.

Park rangers recovered their bodies last Thursday after people reported seeing an unattended camera on a tripod, Vishnu Viswanath's brother said.

He added that Ms Moorthy had set up the tripod by the ledge possibly to take a selfie. Rangers had arrived at the scene Thursday and "used high-powered binoculars to find them and used helicopters to airlift the bodies."

The couple, who through their social media posts chronicled their traveling adventures, also wrote a blog called 'Holidays and HappilyEverAfters'.

Just months before her tragic death, Ms Moorthy had warned in an Instagram post the dangers of taking photographs on the edge of cliffs and atop skyscrapers.

She posted a picture of herself at the Grand Canyon, saying in the caption that "A lot of us including yours truly is a fan of daredevilry attempts of standing at the edge of cliffs. But did you know that wind gusts can be fatal? Is our life worth one photo?"

In an eerie coincidence, Ms Moorthy appears in the selfie of another tourist couple at Taft Point, just minutes before she plummeted to her death.

After reports of the couple's death emerged and their identities were revealed, Sean Matteson said that Ms Moorthy appears in two of their selfie photos that they took at the popular tourist destination.

Mr Matteson said Meenakshi Moorthy's pink-haired visage appears in the corner of two photos he snapped of himself and his girlfriend Drea Rose Laguillo. He said the woman made him a little nervous because he felt she was standing too close to the edge. But he said she appeared comfortable.

Park spokesman Jamie Richards was earlier quoted as saying that "We still do not know what caused them to fall. We're trying to understand what happened. We may never know, (but) from everything we see, this was a tragic fall."

Mr Richards said that so far 10 people have died in the park this year, and six of those park visitors fell to their deaths. In May, Asish Penugonda, a 29-year-old Indian national, fell to his death while ascending the park's famous Half Dome trail.

"Yosemite is a wild and scenic place. If you are not paying attention to your footing, it is very easy to have a slip and fall," the park spokesperson said.

"Now, we don't know what happened in this case, but we urge hikers to stay on the trail."

Investigators were looking into how the couple fell or what had occurred when the accident happened at the famous spot which is a favourite place for tourists from around the world to take scenic and memorable photos.

The couple had been married since 2014 and both were software engineers. On the cover of Vishnu Viswanath's Facebook page is a picture of the two of them smiling on the edge of a cliff at the Grand Canyon.

In a Facebook post, College of Engineering, Chengannur said the two were its alumni and added that it deeply mourns their "accidental demise". The college said Vishnu Viswanath and Meenakshi Moorthy belonged to the BTech 2006-10 Computer Science and Engineering batch.

"Our hearts go to the friends and family members of this lovely couple. May their souls rest in peace," the college said.

Raj Katta, 24, of New York, said he got to know both of them while attending Bradley University, in Illinois. He said Mr Viswanath was a "thoughtful and amazing guy, very talented. They are a really happy couple. Very positive."

He described Ms Moorthy as extremely positive and enthusiastic. "She's one of those girls who wants to explore the world and discover a deeper meaning in life."

He said that Mr Viswanath and Ms Moorthy had decided six months ago that he would take the job at Cisco and they would live in California for a year or so.

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News Network
May 8,2025

New Delhi: The government is briefing an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of "Operation Sindoor" and its aftermath, as top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, J P Nadda and Nirmala Sitharaman represented the government, while Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress and DMK's T R Baalu were among the leading opposition figures in the meeting.

Other opposition leaders included Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, BJD's Sasmit Patra and CPI(M)'s John Brittas.

JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi were also part of the meeting.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government wanted to brief all parties on "Operation Sindoor".

In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.

The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor' two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

The government had earlier called an all-party meeting on April 24 to brief leaders on the attack.

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News Network
May 13,2025

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Srinagar: Following an unprecedented episode of intense cross-border shelling by the Pakistan Army that directly targeted the towns of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian government is moving to construct community bunkers in these towns and other vulnerable areas along the Line of Control (LoC).

While the government has, over the past decade, supported the construction of both individual and community bunkers along the LoC and the International Border (IB), towns like Rajouri and Poonch had been excluded from such initiatives. These towns were considered safe, as previous shelling incidents were largely restricted to forward villages closer to the border.

Officials now say the latest shelling marks a dangerous shift in the pattern of cross-border hostilities.

“The nature and intensity of the attack marked a significant departure from past ceasefire violations. For the first time in years, heavily populated towns like Rajouri and Poonch were directly hit,” a senior official said.

Caught unprepared, residents in both towns had little access to protective infrastructure as long-range mortar shells struck deep inside civilian areas.

“People weren’t expecting this—these towns had never been targeted before. Without bunkers, many had nowhere to go for safety,” the official added.

In response, the government now plans to build community bunkers at strategic locations throughout Rajouri and Poonch. These reinforced shelters will offer immediate protection to civilians during any future shelling incidents.

“In areas where individual bunkers aren't viable, community shelters become essential. These will provide residents with quick access to safety in emergencies,” the official noted.

The attacks have left local communities rattled.

“This is the first time shells landed so close to our homes in Poonch town,” said Abdul Rashid, a resident. “We never thought this would happen here.”

The sudden escalation has disrupted the fragile calm along the LoC, raising concerns over a potential return to more violent confrontations in the region.

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News Network
May 11,2025

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Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned that around 1,500 citizens have lost their eyesight due to the war and another 4,000 are at risk of blindness because of severe shortages of medications and medical equipment.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in a report on Sunday said that the eye care services in Gaza have been facing a catastrophic collapse because of the genocidal war.

“The health sector is witnessing a critical shortage of consumables and medical equipment for eye surgeries, which is leading to an almost total collapse of surgical services, particularly for retinal diseases and diabetic retinopathy with internal bleeding,” said Dr. Abdelsalam Sabah, director of Gaza’s Eye Hospital.

“The Eye Hospital currently has only 3 worn-out surgical scissors in use, which greatly increases risks to patients’ lives and prevents effective treatment,” he added.

The majority of eye injuries are caused by shrapnel from ordnance explosions and need medical materials such as Healon and fine sutures, which are almost impossible to find in the Strip due to the blockade.

Unless immediate and urgent intervention is made by relevant bodies and international organizations, the Eye Hospital will be unable to provide any surgical services in the near future.

The siege has forced hospitals and medical centers in Gaza to ration medications such as painkillers, provide less effective treatment, or turn patients away.

Hospitals and medical centers have run out of surgical supplies such as anesthetics, pediatric antibiotics, and medicines for chronic conditions.

Since March 18, when the Israeli regime broke its ceasefire agreement with Hamas, it has killed around 1,900 Palestinians and wounded several thousand more, most of whom are children and women. 

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