14 DAY TRIAL // A search is still underway for a teenage hiker going missing at Yosemite National Park. 19-year-old Aleh Kalman went swimming in the Merced River and was swept away by the Nevada Fall.
“We believe a fall from the top of that waterfall is not survivable. [...] We have moved to limited, continuous searching,” Yosemite National Park spokeswoman Kari Cobb states.
USA Today reported that Kalman was traveling with his church group when he fell over the 594-foot (181 meters) waterfall on Saturday, June 1.
“He actually got swept away in the current and over the fall. [...] Nevada Fall is a 600-foot (182-meter) fall and there's no way someone can survive a fall like that,” Cobb reiterates.
Kalman, of Sacramento, was hiking on the Mist Trail and he was seen diving in the water by his friends. He jumped in about 150 feet (46 meters) upstream from the fall and held on to a rock. He was not able to get back to his group.
Rescue teams were sent in on ground and helicopter crews sent over by the California Highway Patrol joined in the search. A rise in river levels, brought about by melting snow made the search impossible in some areas.
“Although the park received only 50 percent of normal snow pack, rivers within the park continue to run at high levels this time of the year.
“Additionally, the water remains extremely cold and will be throughout the year,” Cobb explains.
Three dog teams are aiding in the Kalman search operation, but falling in “a swift and powerful spring flow of water” may turn this into a recovery mission.
The Merced River waters run at 500 cubic feet (14 cubic meters) per second this time of year, and they claimed four lives in 2012 and seven the year before that.