Your support helps us to tell the story
A man has died after falling from a canyon in Zion National Park in Utah.
The man, who was 40 according to the National Park Service but has not been publicly identified, was canyoneering with three others when he fell between 150 and 200 feet around 6pm on Saturday. The group of four hikers were following an approved route through Heaps Canyon when the incident took place.
Upon receiving the report of the fall, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office along with the park’s search and rescue team arrived at the scene and provided emergency medical care.
Emergency personnel on a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter extracted the man to a helispot near one of the park’s campgrounds. There, officials provided him with additional aid, but he was pronounced dead before he could be transported by air ambulance to a nearby hospital.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent, said in a written statement.
The following day, officials extracted two of the three remaining canyoneers by helicopter. The third person was assisted in climbing down the canyon and reached the ground safely around 2pm.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the man’s fall. No other injuries were reported.
According to National Park Service data, 205 people have died by falling in parks from 2014 to 2019, the most recent years for which data is available.
