Colorado woman dies after falling into rapids at Grand Canyon
A Colorado woman died when she fell into whitewater rapids on the Colorado River while on a boating trip in Grand Canyon National Park, park officials said.
The death of Mary Kelley, 68 of Steamboat Springs occurred Thursday near Hance Rapid where there is powerful river turbulence at the intersection with Red Canyon due to debris from flash floods, officials said in a statement Friday.
Other members of a private boating trip pulled Kelley out of the water but their administration of CPR and subsequent resuscitation efforts by park rangers flown to the scene by helicopter were unsuccessful, the statement said.
Park officials said she was on the 9th day of a multi-day private boating trip when she died.
The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner and no additional information was available, the statement said.
According to the Arizona Republic, at least 100 people have drowned in the Colorado River. Some died after they fell from a raft while others lost their lives jumping into the water to save another person or just in an attempt to cool off.
