Tourist killed after falling into notorious ‘bottomless’ Thor’s Well sinkhole

Thor’s Well remains a must-see natural attraction as thousands flock to watch the waves and water collide in the deep ocean pit but it is very dangerous if you get too close

A man has been killed after falling into a ‘bottomless’ sinkhole^[1] dubbed the ‘Gateway to Hell’.

Notorious Thor’s Well, on America’s central Oregon Coast, draws tourists year-round for its other-worldly appearance. But on Monday, emergency services^[2] responded to a call about a man who had fallen into the huge deep hole after rough seas swept the unsuspecting onlooker into the ocean.

But by the time help arrived, the man was already dead and floating face down. His body would periodically disappear before returning again as water filled and emptied. It was the third drowning at Thor’s Well in the past eight years as experts continue to warn people of the dangers.

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“The events leading up to the subject falling into the water are unclear, but one bystander reported believing that the subject had been getting too close to the edge of the well,” the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District said in the social media post on Monday afternoon, hours after the tragedy.

Thor’s Well is located at the edge of the Oregon coast near Cape Perpetua. It has also been called the drainpipe of the Pacific. Officials confirmed they are still investigating how the man fell into the water, but one witness reported the victim had been getting too close to the edge of the well.

“Because you’re in such a small area that’s going up and down with the water and trying to lift yourself out while also dealing with the power of Mother Nature and that water, it can be really dangerous,” Steve Strohmeyer from the US Coast Guard said. “Give a lot of distance between that area and yourself, because you never know when that wave could come up, swipe you off your feet, and all of a sudden you’re put into a really dangerous situation.”

Despite the three deaths since 2017, Thor’s Well remains a tourist attraction as thousands flock to see the deep ocean pit. When the high tide comes in, white wash shoots out of the huge hole in an impressive water show. Experts think the Cape Perpetua sight might have started out as a cave.

Rescuer Tyler Gantt, 31, eventually pulled the body of the still unidentified man from the water. “We didn’t know what to expect,” he said in an interview with the Lincoln Chronicle. “There was talk about if this guy gets swept out to the open ocean and flying search patterns. And that’s pretty common for a case like this.”

“When you show up to that it’s really just ‘Oh man, this sucks’. It’s not worth risking your life to peer over the edge and take a look inside as there’s nothing in it – the only cool thing about it is when you see the waves coming out of the spout, which you can do from a safe distance.

“But body recovery is important, important for families to have closure and important for the fire department to not have to put themselves in harm’s way and potentially add more bodies to the disaster. Because the safest way to retrieve that body was what we did, hoisting him into the helicopter from directly above.”

The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District, Central Oregon Coast Fire and Rescue, Seal Rock Fire and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office all arrived on the scene after the alarm was raised by a members of the public. They requested further assistance from the United States Coast Guard, Oregon State Police, and the Lincoln County Technical Rescue Team, reports state.

Gary Hayes from Traveloregon.com explained more about the well, saying: “Formations like Thor’s Well and Spouting Horn are typically formed over long periods of time geologically.

“They begin as a sea cave and eventually the top of the cave collapses, leaving an opening where the tide surges from below to send water shooting upward with dramatic force.”