Grand Canyon deaths: Three visitors have died in just eight days. Is that normal?

String of recent deaths reflect apparent increase when compared to annual rate of fatal incidents at national park

A string of recent deaths at the Grand Canyon National Park has raised questions about the region’s safety for millions of annual visitors.

Park rangers responded to a call shortly before noon Wednesday that someone had fallen over the rim. The park’s helicopter and technical rescue team recovered the body of a 67-year-old man.

A spokeswoman said it was the first over-the-edge death this year at Grand Canyon National Park, which had 17 fatalities last year.

Two people died at the Grand Canyon late last month in separate incidents that included one man stumbling over the edge of the rim while trying to take pictures at Grand Canyon West, a popular tourist destination on the Hualapai reservation outside the boundaries of the national park.

A helicopter lifted the body of the Hong Kong man from 1,000 feet (305 metres) below the rim last month at Grand Canyon West, a popular tourist destination on the Hualapai reservation outside the boundaries of the national park, spokesman David Leibowitz said. His identity hasn’t been released.

Meanwhile, authorities at Grand Canyon National Park — about 95 miles (153 kilometres) east — were working to identify a person believed to be a foreign national. A body was found in a wooded area south of Grand Canyon Village away from the rim, the park said.

On average, there are nearly 12 deaths annually at the park.

Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S., drawing nearly 6.4m visitors last year.

Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai reservation gets about one million visitors annually.

“Dying from heat or dehydration is more common than falling off the edge in the Grand Canyon, but it is still a major concern,” notes one visitor information website for the park, which says approximately one in 400,000 visitors die while visiting the Grand Canyon.

Its warning continues, “One of the largest dangers with walking out on the rim is that though the ground may look stable, underneath it can be undercut. This means the ground beneath your feet is actually paper-thin due to erosion that has carved out the canyon wall beneath you.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report