LOS ANGELES, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A hiker died after falling about 500 feet (152.4 meters) from a summit ridge in California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and another women was injured while trying to grab the man, U.S. media reported Wednesday.
According to the National Park Service, the accident occurred on Monday when 56-year-old San Jose hiked along the summit ridge of Mount Russell with two other people, and lost his balance.
One of his hiking partners, a 45-year-old woman from Milpitas, California, fell at the same time, but was able to self-arrest approximately 30 feet down. The third member of the party used a satellite device emergency locator beacon to declare an emergency, and then called 911 from his cell phone.
When the mountaineering accident happened, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' helicopter and other rescuers were engaged in rescuing another injured hiker in another recreation place, so the search and rescue team and helicopter from neighboring Yosemite National Park responded to the emergency.
About 480 kilometers north of Los Angeles, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is the consolidated management structure for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California.
After COVID-19 lockdown orders were removed in U.S. western states this spring, similar accidents had occurred in the national parks.
Last week, the body of a 20-year-old hiker was found in Joshua Tree National Park, 300 kilometers east of Los Angeles, after a week-long search and rescue operation.
In February and March, two hikers fell to their death from almost the same location while hiking at Zion National Park in southern Utah. Enditem
