A hiker has been killed in Washington state after being swept away by rushing river waters inside Mount Rainier National Park, per the AP. Park officials on Sunday said the woman was swept away Wednesday while attempting to cross the West Fork of the White River while hiking the Northern Loop Trail. The News-Tribune reports that the Pierce County medical examiner identified the woman as 22-year-old Qing Yue, a Chinese national who was attending college in the United States.
Other hikers watched the woman get swept away but could not locate her. A ground crew found her body Friday with assistance from a King County Sheriff's Office helicopter after an initial aerial search failed to find her. "River crossings can be extremely hazardous this time of year,” Mount Rainier Superintendent Chip Jenkins said in a press release. “These cold, swift-flowing waters require a high level of caution, even for those hikers with extensive experience, knowledge and skills.”
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