Alberta Environment and Parks staff are warning visitors to respect the barriers at Elbow Falls after the body of a Calgary man was recovered Sunday night.
RCMP said the man had stepped over the rails before falling to his death at the popular tourist spot west of Calgary Saturday night.
Family and friends at the scene were devastated by the death.
On Monday, visitors to the recreation site said the incident was tragic, but the barriers are in place for a reason.
“I feel so sorry for these poor folks–how terrible,” Barb Stearns told Global News. “But it’s marked everywhere: ‘Don’t go past here’ and I abide by that and I hope everybody else does.”
She was enjoying the spectacular scenery with her husband, Jim.
“It’s obviously dangerous and whether they are confident or not, they may make one little slip and that’s it,” he added.
Joan Burton was hiking the pathway next to the falls on Monday.
“I think there’s a reason why they don’t want you along the edges,” Burton said. “It’s pretty scary.”
Alberta Parks reiterated the safety message in a statement to Global News on Monday:
“We encourage visitors to Elbow Falls to respect the barriers in place.”
The man’s body was recovered Sunday night due to dangerous water conditions over the weekend.
Friends identified him as Abdul Quadir Mohammed, 33.
With files from Global’s Lisa MacGregor and Erika Tucker