TRAGIC

‘Unfathomably Smart’ Naval Academy Student Dies While Hiking in Chile

Luke Gabriel Bird, 21, reportedly tripped and fell over a waterfall.

A 21-year-old Naval Academy student died while hiking in Chile and apparently accidentally falling over a waterfall, officials announced on Monday. NBC News reported that Luke Gabriel Bird, a midshipman who was studying ocean engineering, was hiking near the Salto El Agua waterfall in Placilla, Chile, with another student when he reportedly tripped and died. Officials said that Chilean authorities found Bird’s body near the waterfall the next morning. A Texas native, Bird is the second Naval Academy midshipman that has died in the past two months. His friend and fellow midshipman Travis Delgado said that Bird was “unfathomably smart” and willing to “hel[p] anyone at the drop of a hat.”