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Australian dies after fall at Portugal beach

The couple reportedly fell from the wall at Praia dos Pescadores beach while trying to take a selfie.

The couple reportedly fell from the wall at Praia dos Pescadores beach while trying to take a selfie. Photo: Getty

An Australian is dead after falling from a cliff overlooking a popular Portuguese tourist beach, reportedly while attempting to snap a “selfie”.

A couple, a woman in her 30s and man in his 40s, plunged more than 30 metres to their deaths between 1am and 6am on Tuesday (local time) after falling from a beach wall in the seaside town of Ericeira, according to local media.

Local rescue service captain Rui Pereira da Terra told Portuguese news agency Lusa a mobile phone was found resting on the wall, suggesting a fatal photography mishap.

“It seems that [the victims] might be getting a selfie, when they let the phone fall, leaned over to grab it and fell,” he was quoted as saying.

The bodies were reportedly discovered below at Pescadores Beach by a council worker and later transported to Lisbon’s National Legal Medicine Institute.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to “the family of an Australian who died in Portugal”.

It is unclear which of the pair is an Australian citizen.

“The Department has been in contact with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding the other person who died in the incident,” DFAT said on Wednesday.

Ericeira, a popular surfing spot, is about 30 kilometres north-east of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

Pescadores Beach, which translates to Fisherman’s Beach, is ringed by cliffs and a wall up to 40 metres high.

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