Killer waterfalls claim tourists in Yosemite and Kauai

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A string of recently dead near waterfalls in the popular Yosemite National Park in California and the Hawaiian island of Kauai has reopened the debate on the safety of visitors in potentially dangerous - and how the personal responsibility of visitors should take.

The search and rescue continued today along the Merced River below Yosemite Vernal Fall 317 feet after witnesses reported seeing one or more hikers slip into the water and on the edge Tuesday . The Rangers have temporarily closed the Mist Trail, the popular hiking trail that provides access in the fall, reports the Associated Press.

Record snowfall has created unusually spectacular waterfalls in Yosemite this year, but the turbulent waters have taken a toll: At least eight people died in the park this year, spokeswoman Kari Cobb told the AP. Visitors have been traumatized in May, when a hiker slipped and fell into the Merced River, his body hung on a rock and rescuers could not reach it for hours. Two men died after being swept from a bridge near the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in June, and a man who disappeared while hiking near Yosemite Falls, with his group the church is still missing.