A 70-year-old woman has become the latest person to fall to their death at the Grand Canyon.
Park rangers said they were alerted to a woman in difficulty at a rocky point but by the time they were on the scene the woman had lost her grip and fallen about 200 feet.
The victim has not been formally named.
It is the third death due to falling in the Grand Canyon in recent weeks and the fifth death overall so far this year, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Vanessa Ceja.
This includes two deaths in the space of less than a week in early April.
Although Ceja says falls are not uncommon, the majority of deaths within the park result from medical conditions, particularly heart-related, due to the terrain and heat.
"It’s also a very drastic environment for a lot of people," Ceja said.
Last year, 17 people died inside Grand Canyon National Park.
In a statement park management reiterated the need to stay on designated trails and walkways, and always stay well back from from the edge of the rim.
Last year the park welcomed about six million visitors.
