Fatalities At Grand Canyon "Not Unusual"

Above, hikers on Bright Angel Trail below Grand Canyon Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This past year, it seemed like a lot of people died in Grand Canyon National Park. But because the fatalities came so close to each other, it sort of made it seem like a lot.

However, fatalities at the Grand Canyon aren't unusual.

According to AZFamily.com:

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ (Cronkite) – Two non-life-threatening medical calls came in at once to Grand Canyon National Park’s 911 center one day in late April, and the park’s search and rescue team was dispatched. 

Calls like these aren’t unusual: Last year, the team responded to 265 of them. But the very next day, a 70-year-old woman plummeted 200 feet to her death in the canyon, becoming the fourth fatality in or near the park in five weeks.  

The three previous fatalities occurred over within a week of each other. On April 3, a 67-year-old man fell about 400 feet below the rim east of Yavapai Geology Museum. A 50-year-old visitor from Hong Kong died on March 28 fell to his death while taking photos. 

The body of a Japanese tourist was found March 26 in a wooded area south of Grand Canyon Village, away from the rim. 

Park officials said the recent fatalities weren’t out of the ordinary – 17 people die at the Grand Canyon every year – and no safety changes are planned. However, there’s an increased focus on helping the park’s more than 6 million annual visitors understand the dangers that exist near the edge of a yawning chasm and of hiking in what will become excessively hot weather.

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