GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Another man visiting Grand Canyon National Park died after jumping from a cliff with a parachute.
National Park Service staff said in a press release that on Thursday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who had attempted a BASE jump from Yavapai Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
BASE is an acronym for building, antenna, span (such as a bridge) and earth (such as a cliff) or platforms from which parachute jumpers leap.
According to the press release, park rangers responded and located the body of a deceased male approximately 500 feet below the rim, along with a deployed parachute.
“Recovery teams were able to reach the victim this morning,” the National Park Service press release stated. “The body was transported to the rim by helicopter and subsequently transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office are conducting an investigation into the incident. Park staff said the name of the man is being withheld pending positive identification. No further information is being released at this time.
Park officials said that BASE jumping, a high-risk activity involving parachuting from fixed objects, is illegal in all areas of Grand Canyon National Park.
The National Park Service also identified the man who died after falling from an overlook on Wednesday. Park officials said on July 31, responding rangers located and recovered the body of Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, of Hickory, North Carolina, approximately 400 feet below the rim.
The media release reminded all visitors to keep a safe distance of at least six feet (2 meters) from the edge of the rim and staying behind railings and fences at overlooks.
According to the park service website, Grand Canyon National Park, in northern Arizona, encompasses 278 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands.
Located on the ancestral homeland of 11 Native American tribes, “Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world.”
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.