BASE Jumper Dies at Grand Canyon

A man was killed trying to parachute into the Grand Canyon, park officials report. Crews found his body and a deployed parachute around 500 feet below the South Rim in Grand Canyon National Park, NBC News reports. A National Park Service statement said the man attempted an illegal BASE jump about 7:30am Thursday from Yavapai Point. Crews reached the body Friday. His name was not released pending positive identification. The acronym stands for building, antennae, span, and earth—the features that people parachute from. The jumps are prohibited throughout the park, and the Park Service and the medical examiner's office are investigating.

The day before, a North Carolina college student fell 400 feet to his death near a scenic viewpoint on the Grand Canyon's South Rim, per CBS News. Park officials said the body of Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, was found near the Pipe Creek Vista on Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for the park said 10 to 15 people per year die in Grand Canyon National Park. (More BASE jumping stories.)