At the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a popular tourist hotspot in Arizona, a man tragically fell to his death from a great height of 4,000 feet.
On June 5, around 9am, a 33-year-old man, yet to be identified, was seen at the Skywalk on the western edge of the Grand Canyon. He was then spotted falling over the edge, dropping into the canyon beneath. This alarming news was released by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.
Opened in 2007, the Skywalk is a glass walkway extending roughly 70ft beyond the edge of the canyon. The glass bridge is perched between 500-800ft above the bottom.
After the incident, a team of rope specialists using a Kingman DPS Ranger helicopter arrived at the scene. Their grim assessment confirmed the man had not survived the fall. Upon responding to the tragic incident, the man’s body was retrieved and handed over to the Hualapai Nation, a federally recognized Indian Tribe located in Northwestern Arizona.
Investigations into this shocking incident are currently underway by the local authorities. Managed by the Hualapai Tribe, the Skywalk is located outside the Grand Canyon National Park, in the western part of the Grand Canyon. The spot is frequented by tourists, having seen over 10 million visitors since its inauguration.
While it’s not immediately clear whether the fall was accidental or intentional, the sheriff’s office included a national suicide prevention hotline number in their statement.
Deaths are uncommon at the Grand Canyon, despite the site attracting over 6 million visitors in 2018 alone. On average, there are around 12 fatalities annually, with heat or dehydration being the primary causes rather than falls. Nonetheless, the park’s visitor information website acknowledges that falls do occur and are a cause for concern.