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An Australian hiker has been crushed to death by a falling tree in Yosemite National Park, California.
Harry Partington, 22, from Perth, Australia, was hiking the Four Mile Trail near Union Point on October 8, when a tree crashed down, killing him, according to the National Park Service.
The NPS was alerted to the incident at around 2.30pm, according to The Union Democrat.
A woman from Germany, who was not hiking with Partington, was also injured and was airlifted to hospital. She has not been publicly named.
Kelly Kennedy Bentley, a park visitor who was in the area at the time with her family, told the outlet that she had been waiting for her family to head back down the trail from Glacier Point when she saw Yosemite Search and Rescue, emergency services personnel, and a helicopter rushing to the scene.
She was initially concerned for her family but then received a text from her husband reassuring her they were fine.
Yosemite National Park spokesperson Scott Gediman told The Union Democrat that “there were wind gusts that day,” and rain felt in the valley. The Four Mile Trail in Yosemite is a 9.6 mile, strenuous round loop that winds towards Glacier Point, according to the NPS. The trail hits an elevation gain of 3,200 feet and follows along a “steep grade” to flaunt views of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and, ultimately, the Half Dome.
Partington often posted photos of himself at scenic spots on his Facebook page.
“RIP Harry Partington, taken way too early, life is cruel.” one friend wrote in a tribute on social media.
His death comes just one month after former park ranger Kirk Thomas Olsen, 61, was found dead in Yosemite on September 14 after setting off on a “strenuous” 11.4-mile hike near Ostrander Lake. Years earlier, in 2019, 29-year-old Danielle Burnett, from Arizona, fell 500 feet to her death while climbing the Half Dome.
The Independent has contacted Yosemite, NPS and the Mariposa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office for comment.
