Man falls over cliff in Grand Canyon; 3rd visitor death in 8 days

A sightseer plunged to his death from a Grand Canyon cliff this week, bringing the park's fatality count to three in the last eight days.

Park officials were notified on Wednesday around noon that an individual had fallen off an edge, according to a National Park Service statement released Thursday. Rangers discovered the body of a 67-year-old man 400 feet below the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village.

National Park Service officials and the local medical examiner's office are still looking into the tourist's death. His identity has not yet been released.

On March 28, another visitor tripped while taking a photo. The tourist from Hong Kong fell over a 1,000-foot rim near the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The horseshoe-shaped bridge, a famous observation and photo sight on the Hualapai reservation, was closed to the public the following day, The Associated Press reported.

Two days earlier, on March 26, another male body was discovered by authorities in a forested area nearby a hiking trail.

A National Park Service spokeswoman said that Wednesday's fatality was the "first over-the-edge death" at Grand Canyon National Park this year; the March deaths happened outside the national park's boundaries.

In 2018, Grand Canyon National Park drew nearly 6.4 million guests, a record-breaking number. The popular tourist destination saw 17 fatalities last year.

Wednesday's death prompted a warning from the National Park Service to visitors. In a statement released Thursday, the agency reminded: "Have a safe visit by staying on designated trails and walkways, always keeping a safe distance from the edge of the rim and staying behind railings and fences at overlooks."