Climber drowns in rappelling accident at North Carolina waterfall, officials say
_fitted.png "The incident happened around 1:15 p.m. Sunday, July 6, at Steele Creek Falls in Pisgah National Forest, according to Burke County Emergency Services.")
A man rappelling in North Carolina’s rugged Linville Gorge died at the base of a popular waterfall, according to searchers.
It happened around 1:15 p.m. Sunday, July 6, at Steele Creek Falls in Pisgah National Forest, Burke County Emergency Services said in a July 8 news release.
The climber has been identified as 25-year-old Yoseph Alabdulwahab, officials said.
“Burke County 911 received a text of an individual who had been rappelling the waterfall. While en route, a call was received advising that the individual had possibly drowned, and the friends accompanying them at the scene had initiated CPR,” the county wrote in a Facebook post.
The remote location and “challenging terrain” delayed the arrival of emergency crews, officials said. They arrived an hour later and declared the man dead, “despite the bystanders’ life-saving efforts.”
Witnesses said the man “became incapacitated” prior to drowning.
The U.S. Forest Service is investigating the incident, officials said.
“We express our deepest thoughts and condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones during this difficult time,” said James Robinson, Burke County Emergency Services Director said in a release. “We also want to recognize the efforts of the bystanders who attempted to render aid, and the dedication of all rescue personnel who responded under very challenging conditions.”
Steele Creek Falls is “around 30-feet in total height as the river makes multiple drops from one huge pothole to the next in a twisting series of cascades quite unlike any other in the state,” according to DWhike.com.
The trailhead to the falls is about a 115-mile drive northwest from Charlotte, in the Pisgah National Forest.
Pisgah National Forest covers 500,000 acres of “hardwood forest with whitewater rivers, waterfalls and hundreds of miles of trails,” according to the U.S. Forest Service.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Climber drowns in rappelling accident at North Carolina waterfall, officials say."