Man dies in attempted illegal BASE jump from Grand Canyon

A man was fatally injured at the Grand Canyon on Thursday after park officials said he attempted to parachute down from the South Rim of the national park.

Park rangers were contacted Thursday morning about a visitor attempting to BASE jump at about 7:30 a.m., park officials said in a statement. When park rangers arrived, they found the man dead, about 500 feet below the rim with a deployed parachute.

BASE jumping is a sport where participants with parachutes jump off fixed objects. The term BASE is an acronym for locations participants jump off of, such as buildings, antennas, spans and earthly peaks.

The sport is prohibited throughout the park.

Officials believe the man died from the fall despite having deployed his parachute at some point.

Recovery workers were not able to reach the site until Friday morning, when the body was taken via helicopter to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officials at the National Park Service said his name is being withheld until his identity is confirmed and his next of kin are notified.

The death at the Grand Canyon was the second at the internationally known natural landmark last week.

On Wednesday, Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, from North Carolina accidentally fell about 400 feet at Pipe Creek Overlook, officials said in a statement.

Turning Point Pentecostal Church in Ohio posted on Facebook that Mejia was on a mission trip when the fall occurred.

In the statement, Grand Canyon National Park staff encouraged people to stay within designated trails and walkways, and to stay at least 6 feet away from edges.