80-year-old man dies on river rafting in Grand Canyon
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona (AP) — An 80-year-old man died after falling from a boat on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said Tuesday.
This is believed to be the fifth reported death in the gorge in less than a month and the 13th this year.
In a press release, a spokesperson for Grand Canyon National Park said the incident occurred Sunday afternoon near Fossil Rapid. The man was on a commercial river cruise when his boat capsized.
According to the authorities, all attempts to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
The man’s name was not immediately released.
The Park Service and the Coconino County Coroner’s Office will investigate the latest death in the Grand Canyon.
On July 31, a 20-year-old man from North Carolina who was on a mission trip with his church slipped and fell about 400 feet (120 meters) off the edge of the South Rim. He died.
The following day, a 43-year-old man from Missouri died while attempting a base jump from Yavapai Point, falling an estimated 500 feet (150 meters).
Grand Canyon officials said base jumping, a risky skydiving activity, is prohibited in the park.
On August 8, the body of a 20-year-old New Mexico woman was found about 150 feet below Twin Overlooks.
Last Thursday, a 33-year-old woman from Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, was swept away by a flash flood while hiking through the canyon. Her body was recovered on Sunday.
A park official said that there are an average of 10 to 15 deaths in this famous park each year and that there will be 11 deaths in 2023.
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