BASE jumper dead after falling 500 feet at Grand Canyon National Park

PHOENIX- A man is dead after falling 500 feet while attempting a BASE jump at the Grand Canyon, authorities said Friday.

On Thursday at 7:30 a.m., a report was made to the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center of a person who attempted a BASE Jump from Yavapai Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Park rangers found the body of the man 500 feet below the rim, along with a deployed parachute.

Responders reached the body on Friday morning and transported the victim by helicopter to the rim and then to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Authorities have not released the name of the victim.

No further information is available at this time.

The incident is an ongoing investigation by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

BASE jumping is illegal in all parts of the Grand Canyon National Park.

On Wednesday, a North Carolina man was killed after falling 400 feet near a scenic area of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.

According to mortality data from the National Park Service, an average of 11 deaths occur per year at the Grand Canyon.

Out of the 181 death at the national park between 2007 and 2023, falling is the the second highest cause of death.