An 8-year-old girl died after falling some 550 feet (168 meters) into a canyon at Yellowstone National Park on Sunday morning, Reuters reported. She had stepped off a trail overlooking a 1,200-foot (366-m) canyon and lost her footing, a park official said on Monday.
Zahra Allahyari, of Poway, Calif., was hiking to the Brink of the Lower Falls, an ancient 20 mile-long (32-km) geologic formation toward a fenced platform where visitors can observe the park's tallest waterfall, along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with her family when the accident took place, Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said.
As the family walked two-thirds of the way down the trail near an observation point, Zahra reportedly stepped off the trail and lost her footing, NBC News reported. She plunged 550 feet to the bottom of the canyon.
On Sunday, Yellowstone crew workers rappelled from a helicopter to retrieve the body of the 8-year-old a few hours later, officials said.
"It was the second such recovery in two days after tourists suffered fatal accidents at Yellowstone," according to Reuters. "A swift water rescue team on Saturday extracted the body of a seasonal hotel worker who was swept away one week ago while tubing the powerful Yellowstone River, where rafting is banned because of safety concerns, Nash said."
Zahra attended Pomerado Elementary School, where administrators are contacting families by phone and email to tell them that counselors will be available for students, staff and families through the week and beyond if they need them, NBC News reported.
"Pomerado Elementary School and the entire Poway Unified family send its deepest condolences to Zahra's family. She was a bright, compassionate child with immense promise for the future. The news of her sudden passing has been a shock to our community," said a statement from Jessica Wakefield, the communications director for the Poway Unified School District.
Just a handful of the roughly 3 million annual visitors die by accident at a park that spans parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, Nash said, adding, "Both of these incidents remind us of the need to be vigilant of your personal situation and that of those around you when visiting a wild place like Yellowstone."
