Bambus's video: Chunk of ice falls on woman under frozen waterfall

MINNEAPOLIS - At Minnehaha Falls, authorities continuously battle with visitors who can’t resist venturing past the designating viewing area for a closer look. On Sunday, a large chunk of ice fell loose and injured one woman - and frightened many others. A local photographer captured video of the ice crashing down, and officials hope it will serve as a warning. Under the ice at the falls, water is flowing and the ice is shifting, making the area unstable, said Robin Smothers of the Minneapolis Park Board. “Often what we hear from folks is, 'They say it is not safe, but I never hear of anyone getting hurt.' Well, now not only have you heart of it, you’ve seen it, thanks to that video,” Smothers said. Judy Babcock was was taking pictures of the falls as a parade of visitors climbed down into a restricted area. “There were people there with little kids, 6 or 7 years old, that were going up behind the falls,” Babcock said. “The poor firemen. They had to go down those ugly, nasty steps in all that gear, which is very heavy and clumsy.” Smothers said the scary situation is nothing new. “This has been going on for decades. People are going to the falls, going behind the falls, but with social media, it causes more and more people to take pictures,,” Smothers said. Ben Baxter’s Instagram stream includes a photo of him exploring restricted areas of the falls. “I’m one of those people. I’ve done it multiple times,” Baxter said. “You don’t think when you are inside it that that could happen to you, and we came here to do that exact same thing.” Then he learned about Sunday’s collapse. Asked whether the incident affected his decision to explore the icy falls, he said, “Yes. 100 percent. It’s not worth it.”