Man falls more than 4,000 feet from Grand Canyon skywalk to his death
GRAND CANYON. Ariz. - A man fell to his death this week while touring the Grand Canyon and walking across its viewing platform.
The 33-year-old plummeted from the edge of the canyon's "Sky Walk" attraction — a walkway that extends out over the chasm and allows tourists to look down to its bottom.
The unidentified man fell over 4,000 ft, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said.
"About 9am Monday (6/5) morning, the technical rope rescue team from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue responded to Grand Canyon West Skywalk for a 33-year-old male who went over the edge at the Sky Walk into the canyon," said the sheriff's office.
Members of the media and the Hualapai tribe take a preview walk on the Skywalk, billed as the first-ever cantilever-shaped glass walkway extending 70 feet from the western Grand Canyon's rim more than 4,000 feet above the Colorado River, on March 20,
Officials launched a rescue effort, including helicopter support, but found the victim dead at the scene.
"Two short-haul technicians (rope specialists) responded with Kingman DPS Ranger helicopter to the scene and determined the man was deceased," the sheriff's office said. "He was extracted to the Command Post and transferred to the Hualapai Nation."
It is not immediately clear if the man's death was an accident or if he committed suicide.
An investigation into the tragic incident has been launched.
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