Yosemite rock fall kills at least one person, hurts another

Aerial shot of El Capitan Rock at Yosemite National Park (Photo grabbed from Reuters video)

MARIPOSA COUNTY, California (Reuters) — At least one person was killed and another hurt on Wednesday (September 27) when a rockslide from the famed El Capitan granite monolith in Yosemite National Park in California rained bolders onto a popular hiking trail, a park spokesman said.

Search and rescue teams responded to the scene and were assessing the situation, along with a park helicopter, Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said in a statement.

Gediman said crews were working to transport the injured person to a hospital. He said no further details were immediately available.

The rocks appeared to have fallen from an area near the popular “Waterfall Route” climbing trail during an active time for hiking in the popular national park.

Yosemite remained open and visitor services were not affected, Gediman said.