A woman plunged to her death after losing her footing from a bridge while filming wild deer in Japan on Saturday.

The incident took place at around 9.30am in the town of Higashi-Izu in Shizuoka prefecture, according to Yahoo Japan.

The woman, who was reported to be in her 20s and from Chiba prefecture, was with her father and his friends on a trip to the mountains to watch wild deer roaming in their natural habitat, said the authorities.

She had left the vehicle that everyone was in and ventured out onto the bridge to film the deer and other animals using her phone. However, she lost her footing and fell from the bridge.

Her father immediately called the police, saying: “My daughter has fallen from the bridge.”

The Shimoda Police Station said she had fallen 40m from the bridge, where she was found in a valley, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The woman was pronounced dead at the hospital. Investigations are ongoing.