Man killed trying to BASE jump from Grand Canyon
A man was fatally injured at the Grand Canyon after park officials said he attempted to parachute down from the South Rim of the national park.
Park rangers were contacted about a visitor attempting to BASE jump about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, park officials said in a statement. When park rangers arrived, they found the man dead, about 500 feet below the rim with a deployed parachute.
BASE jumping is a sport where participants with parachutes jump off fixed objects. The term BASE is an acronym for locations participants jump off of, such as buildings, antennas, spans and earthly peaks.
The sport is prohibited throughout the national park.
Officials believe the man died from the fall despite having deployed his parachute.
Recovery workers were not able to reach the site until Friday morning, when the body was taken via helicopter to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Grace Rohloff’s death has renewed concerns about the safety of hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, where at least 10 people have died in the last decade.
Officials at the National Park Service said the man’s name was being withheld until his identity is confirmed and his next of kin are notified.
The death at the Grand Canyon was the second at the internationally known natural landmark last week.
On Wednesday, Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, from North Carolina accidentally fell about 400 feet at Pipe Creek Overlook, officials said in a statement.
Turning Point Pentecostal Church in Ohio posted on Facebook that Mejia was on a mission trip when the fall occurred.
In the statement, Grand Canyon National Park staff encouraged people to stay within designated trails and walkways, and to stay at least six feet away from edges.
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