Base jumper dies after 500-foot fall at Grand Canyon

A man attempting to base jump in the Grand Canyon plummeted to his death this week in the latest tragic accident at the national park.

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center dispatched officers to Yavapai Point in Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday morning after receiving reports of a visitor who attempted to base jump from the location. 

Rangers responded to the scene and found the man deceased at a location 500 feet below the South Rim with a deployed parachute.

SECOND TEXAS HIKER IN 2 WEEKS DIES ON TRAIL AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

Operations were undertaken to recover the victim’s body on Friday morning. 

A helicopter airlifted the body and the remains were immediately transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. 

The office is currently working to determine the manner of death, officials say.

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The National Park Service announced that rangers are “conducting an investigation into the incident” in conjunction with the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Base jumping is an extreme sport in which an individual jumps from a fixed, high-altitude location and uses a parachute to safely descend. 

A base jumper wearing a wingsuit jumps from the Becco dell’Aquila, the exit point on the top of Monte Brento near Trento, Northern Italy. (MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

The term “BASE” is an acronym that references four common types of jump locations: buildings, antennas, spans and earth.

“Base jumping, a high-risk activity involving parachuting from fixed objects, is prohibited in all areas of Grand Canyon National Park,” the National Park Service reminded visitors in their report of the incident.

The deceased individual’s name has been withheld by park officials until he is positively identified.