This past week, two people have died at the Grand Canyon. One of the people, a man, died after he fell over the edge of the rim while trying to take pictures. A helicopter lifted the body from one thousand feet below the rim Thursday afternoon, March 21, at Grand Canyon West. The fall happened earlier Thursday, the time when not many visitors are at Eagle Point. Eagle Point is a remote site best known for its Skywalk, a horse-shoe shaped glass bridge that comes out from the edge of the canyon. The bridge has no barrier between the tourists and the edge. Anyway, the man was in his 50s and was taking pictures. Signs tell tourists to avoid getting to close to the edge. However, the man stumbled and fell over the edge. About 95 miles east of the Skywalk, the following Tuesday evening, a second body was found. "The person's relatives haven't been notified, and the cause of death is unclear," park spokeswoman Vanessa Ceja-Cervantes said. The National Park Service and the local medical examiner's office will continue to keep investigating.
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Do you feel the Skywalk needs to be more safe? If so, how?
I feel they should build a barrier because if a barrier had been there, the man wouldn't have ever fallen.
What do you think some possible reasons are of the second person's death?
Replies
David,
While this is not direclty copy and pasted, much of it is very similar to an article on CBSnews.com. Make it your own. Good job replying!
I think if there were a barrier on the skywalk the man never would have fallen. Building a barrier would definetly prevent this from happening again. The second person could have been hiking somewhere they weren't supposed to and maybe got lost.
1. I think there should be a bigger barrier and there also could be some sort of guards to make sure people don't make dumb decisions
2. I think it was probably the same as the first person. He just slipped and fell off or someone could have pushed him we may nit never know.
Guards would be a good idea, but people would have to obey them and they already ignore the signs. WOuld they listen to a person? A bigger barrier would prevent accidental falls. I'm sure someone can find a way to climb anything but at least accidents would be stopped.
I think the signs that are posted there are enough. It's a natural canyon and barriers shouldn't have to be built because some people can't follow simple rules. Besides, putting up fences or any barriers would defeat the purpose of going there and really experiencing what the Grand Canyon has to offer.
Really, I don't think there is a way to keep the whole park safe. The grand canyon is huge, and building a fence would take ages, not to mention destroy the natural beauty of the canyon. There is a sidewalk, but people just wander to the edge for a better view. Last year, there was even a fence around a dangerous part, but that didn't stop a man from going over it. He ended up falling and dying because he tried to jump from one large boulder to another. People are simply just going to go around any safety barriers.
That is a good point that it is a really big area and would be hard to put a fence around the whole area. Somebody really tried to jump from one boulder to another? You are right that nothing would stop people like that. I just think the barrier would be good to prevent accidents, but it won't stop those that like to take risks.
I feel like it definitly does, they either need someone watching at all times, a railing, and/or be required to wear a harness to prevent them from falling or catch them if they do. I feel like they were doing something they werent supposed to, mainly because they didnt tell us what the cause of death was, if it were a fall they would probably have known right away.
I think the skywalk should be a little more safe. When I was out there a couple of years ago, I saw people ignoring the signs just to set a cool picture. I don't think a cool picture is worth being in danger. I think that the second person may have died like how this guy did. All for a picture!
That is interesting that you saw first hand how dangerous it can be and how people ignore the signs. I agree a picture is not worth risking your life.
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