A 20-year-old University of Edinburgh student slipped and fell to her death while walking on a muddy part of a trail beside the cliff edge at the Cliffs of Moher in May 2024, an inquest has heard.
At the Clare Coroner’s Court in Kilrush on Friday, eyewitness testimony of three college friends of Roxan Bastaens’ final moments before she fell was read out in evidence.
Members of her family had travelled to Kilrush for the inquest.
It heard that four female friends, two French, one Italian and Belgian national Bastaens had arrived at nearby Doolin the night before the incident with the intention of hiking in the area.
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In her evidence, Italian-born college student, Guilia Bracchi said she was walking behind Bastaens when her friend fell.
“The trail was protected at the beginning, but later on it got slippery and there was no barrier,” she said.
Ms Bracchi said that conditions were calm and “we all had hiking boots on. It was not difficult. There were hundreds of people on the cliffs. The impression was that the trail was safe.”
Ms Bracchi said Bastaens had her camera in her hand and was looking at her steps as she walked around a big puddle.
She said she saw Bastaens’ foot going to the side where the trail was muddy and “she fell forward and she started tumbling down and I tried to catch her, but I couldn’t. It all happened so fast.”
Ms Bracchi added: “I looked down and I saw her hit off the cliffs twice and then she then went out of sight.” Moments later, she could see her friend’s body face down in the water.
Bastaens was weeks away from celebrating her 21st birthday.
County coroner Isobel O’Dea gave a verdict of “accidental death”. She told the family: “Unfortunately, we have a number of deaths at the Cliffs of Moher each year and this was an absolute accident.”
She said Bastaens’ blood sample was negative for any alcohol or drugs.
Ms O’Dea said that the postmortem found she died as a result of polytrauma as a result of a fall from a height. Bastaens’ death, she said, “would have been instantaneous and she wouldn’t have suffered”.
On August 22nd of last year, the Clare Local Development Company closed off large sections of the Cliffs of Moher trail, and they remain closed due to safety concerns.
