Girl, 16, sacrifices her own life to save sister on waterfall
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}H'Money Siu, 16, slipped over a waterfall in North Carolina while trying to save her 11-year-old sister Wednesday. (Fox 46)
A teenage girl sacrificed her life to save her younger sister from falling down a North Carolina waterfall during the July 4 holiday, The Charlotte Observer reported.
H’Money Siu, 16, of Charlotte, and her sister, 11, had fallen into a river 120 to 150 feet above Rainbow Falls in Transylvania County, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.
She tried to help her younger sister get out of the river, but fell down the waterfall. An older family member managed to grab the other girl, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Multiple news outlets reported the fall occurred around noon.
More than 40 agencies, including forest services and multiple volunteer fire departments, aided in the search for the girl's body. About 100 people were evacuated from the river below the falls during the search, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported.
Divers recovered the body around 5 p.m. from a pool about 25 feet deep.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Siu’s accident marks the sixth waterfall-related death in western North Carolina this year. Safety officials have urged visitors and hikers to exercise caution around the dangerous falls, FOX Carolina reported.
Rainbow Falls are about 150 miles from Siu’s family’s home in Charlotte. They are originally from Vietnam.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.