Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP / Getty Images
Authorities reported Monday that A 55-year-old Virginia man died in the Grand Canyon while attempting to hike 21 miles from the South Rim to the North Rim in a single day.
Grand Canyon National Park officials identified the hiker who died Saturday as Ranjith Varma of Manassas. The location where he passed away is toward the end of the South Rim to North Rim hike, which can take 12 to 15 hours to complete.
Saturday, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center reported receiving an emergency call of a hiker in distress on the North Kaibab Trail, about a mile south of Cottonwood Campground.
Varma became unresponsive and both bystanders and rangers tried to resuscitate him without success, park officials said.
It was not immediately clear if his death was heat-related. The Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner were conducting an investigation.
Saturday’s high temperature was 87 degrees at the Grand Canyon Airport, which is about a 20-minute drive from the South Rim.
At the beginning of this year, A 36-year-old Indiana woman died while trying to hike to the Colorado River and back in one day. She was found unconscious on May 14 along the Bright Angel Trail above Three-Mile Resthouse.
July 3, 57-year-old woman died while hiking eight miles in triple-digit heat in Grand Canyon National Park.
Park officials say summer temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach more than 120 degrees, so they urge the public not to hike in the inner canyon between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“Please note that efforts to assist hikers may be delayed during the summer months due to limited staffing, the number of rescue calls, employee safety requirements, and limited helicopter flight capacity during periods of heat.” extreme or inclement weather,” officials said Monday.
Last month, A 34-year-old woman who went missing while hiking in Arizona was found dead and it appeared to be heat-related.authorities said.
Keep reading:
- Orange County woman dies after falling off edge of waterfall while trying to rescue teen
- 14-year-old teen and stepfather died from extreme heat in Texas desert
- Man died in front of his wife and 5 children after falling on a hiking trail in Oregon