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Midshipman plunges to death at Chilean waterfall

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A midshipman from Texas died after falling over a waterfall in Chile, the U.S. Naval Academy announced Monday.

Midshipman 2nd Class Luke Gabriel Bird of New Braunfels, Texas, was participating in a semester abroad program at Chile’s Arturo Prat Naval Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy said in a news release. The 21-year-old junior was hiking with a student from the school Saturday near the Salto El Agua waterfall in Placilla, in the Valparaíso region when he reportedly lost his footing and fell over the waterfall, the academy said.

Chilean authorities found Bird’s body in the waterfall’s lagoon Sunday.