"Huffington Post"が、ナイアガラの滝に転落した女子学生の名前と写真を公表した。とくますあやの（徳升綾乃）さん２０歳。最初の報道では、１９歳と伝えられていたが、実際は２０歳だったそうだ。トロントのHANSA（ヘンサ）語学学校で英語を学んでいた。語学学校のクラスメイトによると、徳升さんは、いつも笑顔で明るい女性だったという。

彼女のフェイスブックの写真を見ると、とても可愛らしい女性で、ラクダの背中に乗ってポーズをとったり、夕日の沈む海辺でショーを見たりと、とても活動的な冒険家だったようだ。



オンタリオ州のウィンザー在住のカップル、アンドレア・スミスさんと、ジェイソン・ワトソンさんが、カメラに映った徳増さんの最後の姿を公開した。この写真は、カップルの息子、ジェアード・ワトソン君がその日の夜８時を少し過ぎたときに撮ったもの。

アンドレアさんたちは、写真を撮ってその場を去った。翌日、ニュースで、女性がナイアガラの滝に転落したと聞き、仰天した。徳升さんが落ちたのは、まさにこの写真を撮った場所で、アンドレアさん一家が去った２、３０分後だった。この写真を見ると確かに徳升さんは、柵の向こう側に立っているのがわかる。ただ、他の目撃者は、徳升さんは、赤いフードつきのセーターを着ていたと証言しているそうだが、この写真で徳升さんと見られる女性が着ているのは、フードなしの赤いセーターであり、その点に矛盾がある。又、徳升さんは傘を持っていたはずだが、この写真では傘は見えない。ちょうど隠れた部分の右手に持っているのだろうか。

アンドレアさんによると、確かにこの女性が徳升さんで、徳升さんは、女友達と話しながら、この柵の上にまたがったり、石の上に座ったりしていたそうだ。そして、これが、最後に立ち上がった瞬間だったのかもしれない。



アンドレアさんは、なぜ、あのときに注意してあげられなかったのかと今さら後悔しても遅すぎるけれども、とてもつらい気分になるという。ジェイソンさんも、一言注意していれば、彼女の人生を変えられたかもしれないと思うと、残念でならないと語る。そのときには、徳升さんの柵を越えるという行動がそれほど気にならなかったが、この写真を見る度に後悔の念にかられるそうだ。

昔なら、注意すれば聞き入れられたかもしれないだろうけど、今だと見ず知らずの人に注意しても、無視されるか、逆切れされて、「あんたには関係ないだろう。」と言われるのがオチだからね。最悪の場合は、せっかく注意してあげたのに、逆切れされた相手にナイフで刺されたり、滝に落とされてしまう可能性だってないわけではない。「触らぬ神に祟りなし」というのが、現代の人々が平穏に暮らしていく上での生活の知恵だろう。

しかし、２人が言うように、もしこのとき、誰かが注意していたら、徳升さんはナイアガラの滝に落ちることもなかったかもしれないと思うと、いたたまれない気持ちになる。

ナイアガラ川がすぐ下に流れるこの場所から落ちたら、まず助かる見込みはないだろう。２度とこのような悲劇を繰り返さないよう、徳升さんが転落したこの場所に１人の女性が柵を越えて命を落としたという事実を伝えるための看板を立て、滝に直接落ちる場所だけ、柵に沿って４５度の角度でセイフティネットをつけたらいいのではないか。そのくらいしか、転落事故を防止する方法はないように思われる。

【More・・・】

参考記事：

Ayano Tokumasu Niagara Falls Death: Student's Last Moments Caught On Camera, Couple Says
The Huffington Post Canada First Posted: 8/17/11 07:44 AM ET Updated: 8/17/11 10:03 AM ET

An Ontario couple believe they may have caught on camera the last moments of a young womam who was swept over Niagara Falls after climbing up on a railing to be photographed beside the natural wonder.

Classmates of the woman, who was studying English at a Toronto language school, identified her as Ayano Tokumasu, a “bubbly, fun-loving” 20-year-old international student from Japan. She had been at the Hansa Language Centre on Eglinton Ave. East for about two weeks, Citytv reports.

Tokumasu’s last moments may have been captured by Andrea Smith and Jason Watson, a vacationing couple from Windsor, Ont., who shared photos with the Windsor Star that they believe show the student.

In the picture, taken in front of the railing, a person in a red sweater is clearly seen in the background standing on top of the rock barrier. It’s not clear from the picture whether she was standing in front of the railing.

According to eyewitnesses, Tokumasu had climbed over the railing and straddled it to look at the falls. When she stood up, the student apparently lost her footing and fell into the river 24 metres upstream from the brink of the falls. The swift current swept her over.

“It actually gave me a chill,” Smith told the newspaper about seeing the picture. “We could have done something to save her and we didn’t.”

Tokumasu’s Toronto language school was a sombre place this week as fellow students learned of the young woman’s plunge over Niagara Falls, the Toronto Star reports:

Classmate Jun Seok Kim, 15, who met the young woman about three weeks ago, said students were putting together a book of messages. “We are praying for you, Ayano,” said one. Another: “We will remember you forever.”

Tokumasu’s Facebook page shows photos of smiling, bright-eyed woman on numerous adventures, from riding a camel to climbing trees in Toronto.

Her presumed death sparked warnings to tourists at the falls not to climb the railing.

"We get about 11 million people a year here who view that annually ― this is the first occurrence of this nature that I can recall," Niagara Parks Police Chief Doug Kane told the Canadian Press earlier this week.

Police said the incident was captured on surveillance video and foul play is not suspected.

Tokumasu was visiting the falls with a friend around 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday, police said. Niagara Parks Police and emergency workers combed the area with helicopters and boats, but couldn't find the woman.

With files from The Canadian Press

Falls image may be her final moments
Local couple wracked with guilt
By Trevor Wilhelm, The Windsor Star August 16, 2011

WINDSOR, Ont. -- A Windsor couple is plagued with guilt after realizing their family photos at Niagara Falls may have captured a stranger in her final moments on earth before she plummeted to her death.

“It was quite strange,” said Andrea Smith.

“It actually gave me a chill. We could have done something to save her and we didn’t.

“And now we have these pictures of her. We’re sitting here looking at them and it’s quite eerie.”

A 19-year-old Japanese student, who was attending school in Toronto, was still missing Tuesday and presumed dead after she was swept over the falls on Sunday.

Police haven’t released her name.

Rescue crews from both sides of the border rushed to the scene and launched a search, but were unable to find the woman.

During their search on Monday, however, they found the body of an unidentified man in the water.

Also Sunday, a man from London fractured his leg after he climbed over a safety wall and fell into the Niagara River gorge.

Smith and her boyfriend Jason Watson believe they inadvertently photographed the now missing woman minutes before she fell. Smith said their son Jared Watson snapped a photo of the couple shortly after 8 p.m., near a railing at the brink of the mighty falls, with the rushing water behind them.

The woman, wearing a red sweater, is visible over their right shoulders. She’s standing on the wet stone base of the safety railing, straddling it. One of the girl’s friends is leaning on the railing talking to her. While other witnesses have said the woman was wearing a red hoodie sweatshirt, which is different than the sweater worn by the girl in Smith’s photo, she is confident it’s the same person.

“Where the girl fell was exactly where we were standing,” said Smith. “The description of her is exactly the same as the girl in the picture, what she was wearing. I was thinking that’s kind of dumb, she could fall really easily. It was really wet and she was sitting there all casual talking to her friend. She was sitting there for a while.”

After taking the photos, they walked away. Smith now regrets not telling her to get down.

“We heard about it the next day,” said Smith. “We looked it up online. We were like ‘wow, that happened when we were there.’ Then we were looking through our pictures and saw her.”

“That was quite creepy. It made us feel really bad because we should have said something to her, like get down.”

Watson said he also feels terrible about the woman’s fall. He said he wasn’t really paying attention and didn’t notice her at first. When he learned what happened, his heart sank. He wishes he could have made a difference, but wonders if the woman would have listened to him anyway.

“I felt horrible,” said Watson. “I felt like if I was there and saw her more, I could have told her to get off the railing. But you can’t do that anymore because people tell you to mind your own business.”

twilhelm@windsorstar.com

or 519-255-6850

© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star

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• カナダの秋景色を満喫しながらの散歩 (2011/10/17)
• 徳升綾乃さんの遺体発見、身元が確認される(追記あり） (2011/08/19)
• ナイアガラの滝に転落した徳升綾乃（とくますあやの）さん最後の瞬間 (2011/08/18)
• 日本人女子学生がナイアガラの滝に転落 (2011/08/17)
• カナダにもようやく春が訪れたようだ (2011/05/12)

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