A Belarusian tourist died on Sunday afternoon downstream from Pongour Waterfall in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region.

Pongour Waterfall is located 50km southwest of Da Lat City, the capital of Lam Dong Province.

Standing 40m tall and spanning 100m wide, Pongour Waterfall lies in a 2.5ha area of primeval forest and is also known as the Seven-Leveled Falls due to its unique structure consisting of seven levels of rock.

The site lost its appeal after a local hydropower plant was built, which turns it into a ‘dead’ waterfall during the dry season.

Managers at the Pongour Waterfall tourist site received reports of a death downstream from the rapids at around 4:00 pm.

Initial inspections identified the victim as a 26-year-old male Belarusian tourist who entered Vietnam on February 16 through the Friendship Pass in the northern province of Lang Son.

A response team had searched for the tourist’s body for five hours before halting the mission at 9:00 pm the same day due to the depth and numbing temperature of the falls’ puddle.

The team resumed their search on Monday and found the missing body at 10:30 am.

Investigation into the cause of the death is underway.