Yosemite visitor unknowingly takes last photo of swimmer before he fell 600-foot

A woman was enjoying her time at the Yosemite National Park along with fellow travellers this weekend when an innocent snap through her camera lens caught the final moments of a man who was swept away and down a 600-foot waterfall.

The incident occurred on 20 June, which saw Freesia Gaul, 20, enjoy what was initially a ‘beautiful day’ above Nevada Fall before she took the picture.

However, things turned into a nightmare when she noticed a man struggling in the water.

Sadly, that man was later identified as 22-year-old Josue Baires Alfaro, who tragically died that day after a strong current forced him over the edge of the fall.

The volunteer lifeguard has since revealed she ran to his aid after spotting the tell-tale signs of a person struggling to wade against a strong current, but she wasn’t able to rescue the man.

She explained to The Daily Mail that it was a ‘strong undercurrent’ in the water that trapped Alfaro, and then herself as she jumped in to help.

“The number one rule in lifesaving is don’t create a second victim,” she told SFGATE. “But when you see someone like that, when you make direct eye contact with someone who you know is going to go over, you can’t turn around.”

A woman revealed how she unknowingly took a snap of a man's final moments on top of Nevada Fall (Getty Stock Images)

She revealed that the current pulled her along with Alfaro, who was just ‘a hand’ away from her, but couldn’t reach.

It was there, as she tried to reach him despite the dangers, she said she realised she too could die.

“Once you get swept in, you can’t stand up,” Gaul said. “You’re fighting a mountain, and you’re just one swimmer.”

“I basically thought the chances are zero,” she said. “I’m not making it out of here.”

The man was identified as Josue Baires Alfaro (Freesia Gaul)

However, she was saved at the last moment by a stranger who held a stick out to her.

Unfortunately, Alfaro went over the edge, leaving his family to grieve the shocking loss as they watched on the shore beside his belongings.

Later, the events caught up with her and she took his death as a personal blow.

“My friends and I started walking back to the base of the trail to go home, I’d cried briefly in the bathroom out of guilt, as it felt like he was only a hand away and if I’d tried harder I could’ve saved him,” she said.

Sadly, Alfaro’s body was found the next day, despite Gaul holding hope that he somehow survived the fall.

As of now, the investigation continues.