September 27, 2017 - 5:07 PM
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - The Latest on a fatal rock fall at Yosemite National Park (all times local):
5 p.m.
Officials at Yosemite National Park say one person was killed and another injured in a rock fall on the granite face of El Capitan.
Ranger Scott Gediman said rocks came crashing down Wednesday at the height of climbing season with at least 30 climbers on the wall.
El Capitan is one of the world's largest granite monoliths towering vertically 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) from the Yosemite Valley floor.
Gediman says the injured person was being taken to a hospital near the park. No identities were released.
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4:30 p.m.
Officials at Yosemite National Park in California say a chunk of rock broke off El Capitan along one of the world's most famously scaled routes at the height of climbing season.
Ranger Scott Gediman said Wednesday that witnesses made multiple calls reporting the rock fall around 2 p.m. PDT. He estimates 30 or more climbers were on the wall at the time, but he could not confirm injuries or the size of the rock fall.
El Capitan is one of the world's largest granite monoliths towering vertically 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) from the Yosemite Valley floor. Mountaineers worldwide travel to the park to scale the sheer face.
Gediman says the park's helicopter is helping assess the damage.
The rock fall happened along the Waterfall route on El Capitan's eastern buttress.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017