Japanese tourist drowns at popular Aussie tourist spot Millaa Millaa Falls

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA 09:38 13 Oct 2026, updated 09:42 13 Oct 2026

The search for a missing swimmer at one of Queensland’s most iconic waterfalls has ended in tragedy after the young tourist’s body was found.

A Japanese tourist, 22, was swimming with friends at Millaa Millaa Falls in Atherton Tablelands on Monday afternoon when he failed to resurface.

Multiple ambulance crews assisted police in a search for the man before his body was pulled from the water two hours later.

Police have launched an investigation and will prepare a report for the coroner.

The tourist’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

‘I can’t really give too much more detail about what happened there,’ Acting Detective Inspector Matthew Hogan told reporters.

Local caravan park owner Andrew Broadbent told the ABC that the region had seen more rain than usual but believed the waterfall was safe to swim in.

‘It’s not a high-flow waterfall. It’s just a curtain waterfall straight down into a little pond and it’s quite shallow,’ he said.

‘There are hundreds of people who go swimming there.

‘Even when it pours down with rain, you can still go swimming in it. It’s not a dangerous waterfall to swim in.’

Millaa Millaa Falls is a popular stop on the region’s well-known Waterfall Circuit south-west of Cairns.

The scenic site is also heavily featured in Far North Queensland tourism promotion material.

The latest tragedy comes after Indian students Chaitanya Mupparaju and Surya Teja Bobba drowned at the same spot in July 2024.

Mr Bobba had tried to rescue his friend after noticing him struggling in the water but both died.

Cairns Councillor Brett Moller called for the establishment of an education program for tourists visiting swimming spots in the region.

‘If you do venture in you’ve got to have an understanding that it’s not just the current you see on top of the water flowing downstream but there are undercurrents that provide turbulence and whirlpools pushing you back upstream,’ he told Yahoo News at the time.

‘It’s an inherent risk to swim in freshwater swimming holes in Far North Queensland… you do need to be mindful and always take precautions in respect to safety even though you’re in a beautiful natural environment.’

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