Man dies after falling off cliff while filming TikTok video
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: United States Coast Guard News/ wapa.tv
A man from Indiana fell to his death whilst filming a video for social media.
Edgar Garay, fell off a cliff in Puerto Rico as he was filming a TikTok, with the cliff having a staggering 70-feet drop.
The 27-year-old had been out with family on a 'recreational day trip'.
Garay was near the coastal cliff near the lighthouse in Cabo Rojo last Sunday (29 January).
Advert
And, according to The United States Coast Guard News, this was where he was last seen alive at 5:37 pm.
Dubbed by his brother Carlos Garay as a 'daredevil', the 27-year-old reportedly lost his footing while filming content for a TikTok and tragically plummeted off the cliff to his death.
"My brother has a TikTok account that he loved to upload videos to," Carlos told WTHR.
"Unfortunately, that was what he was trying to do when he was closer to the edge than he should have been."
The United States Coast Guard News has since released a statement about Garay's death.
They said a local emergency dive unit had 'located and recovered' Garay's body on Monday afternoon ( 3 February).
According to the statement, a witness said she saw Garay 'stumble towards the edge of the cliff'.
Expressing 'heartfelt condolences' for Garay's family, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander, Captain José E. Díaz said: "We express our most heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Edgar Garay and pray they find closure and strength during this most difficult time."
He continued: “We appreciate the efforts of all the Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Police and partner agency emergency responders, especially the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau dive unit that was able to locate Mr. Garay’s body in such a highly inaccessible and challenging environment.”
Garay's brother has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money needed to bring Garay's body back to Indiana from Puerto Rico.
Currently, the GoFundMe has reached $5,940 of its $8,500 goal.
The description reads: "Our family is now on a mission to bring our loveable sibling home so that he can be laid to rest among friends and family."
Needing help to cover the cost of the transportation, Carlos added that he wanted loved ones to be able to 'say their goodbyes' in a 'proper manner'.
He called Garay's death 'the worst accident imaginable' which led to his life being taken from him 'so young'.