One person is dead and multiple others were injured after a motorboat capsized in the Grand Canyon over the weekend, National Park Service officials said Sunday.
Park service officials at the Grand Canyon received a report of a “flipped motorboat” at the Bedrock Rapid of the Colorado River shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time Saturday, according to a tweet from the service. A search and rescue crew was dispatched to the scene.
Ronald Vanderlugt, 67, was found unresponsive when members of the rafting group pulled him out of the water, the park service said in a news release. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was administered.
After arriving at the scene, the park service said park rangers attempted resuscitation efforts but were unsuccessful. Four other people in non-critical condition were aided and flown to the South Rim Helibase.
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Vanderlugt was on his fifth day of a multi-day commercial river trip and entered Bedrock Rapid at mile 131, officials said in the release. This area of the river is known to be consequential and unforgiving, according to multiple rafting websites.
The incident is currently being investigated by the park service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner. Park Service officials did not release any further information.
The death was the third in recent weeks at Grand Canyon National Park.
A hiker fell 200 feet off a ledge to his death in the park at the end of August, and a 57-year-old hiker from Arizona died over Labor Day weekend after she became disoriented and lost consciousness during a multiday backpacking trip. Her cause of death is being investigated, but the park noted that temperatures along the inner canyon were “well over” 100 degrees the day she died and can hit 120 degrees even in the shade.
Park officials also announced Sunday that the south rim of the park will begin phasing further water conservation measures and restrictions due to a series of breaks in the park’s water line.
Contributing: The Associated Press