A dangerous walkaway is when someone leaves or eludes their allocated location without permission, such as a prisoner or a patient in a medical facility. Due to the potential risk, this person poses to herself or others, this can be a major security violation. In high-security settings like jails or mental health facilities, dangerous walkaways can occasionally result in harm or even death. For this reason, they are treated very seriously there. In order to stop walkaways from happening, staff personnel must be on guard and take the necessary precautions, such as putting security procedures in place and closely observing people.
Did you ever see such a dangerous walkway? El Caminito del Rey (also known as The King’s Walkway) can be considered the most dangerous walkway in the world. El Caminito del Rey was built in 1901 as a connection between the power plants of Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls. It took four years to finish and in 1905 Alfonso XIII, King of Spain, crossed the walkway for the inauguration, thus giving it its name, The King’s Walkway.
Built along the steep walls of a narrow gorge, in the Malaga region, El Caminito del Rey has deteriorated severely in the last years and after four people died crossing it, in 1999 and 2000, the authorities decided to close it off to tourists. It’s only 1 meter wide and it stands 300 meters above the river floating in the area. Only a small part of the walkway has handrails and much of the concrete walkway has collapsed, leaving only the steel beam that originally held it up.
