Rockfall Kills One Person At Yosemite National Park

Updated 11:15 p.m. ET

One person has been killed and another injured by a rockfall from El Capitan, according to authorities at Yosemite National Park in California.

A statement says rangers are assessing the situation but the park remains open.

"The release point appears to be near the "Waterfall Route", a popular climbing route on the East Buttress of El Capitan. This is the area where Horsetail Falls flows in winter and spring conditions. ...

This is the climbing season in Yosemite National Park and there are many climbers on El Capitan and other climbing routes in the park."

The Fresno Bee reports, "The rockfall was quickly noted on a climber's website, where one climber described a sheet of rock that gave way and posted a photo showing dust billowing."

The Associated Press interviewed climber Kevin Jorgeson, who said he saw a massive rockfall in the same area in 2015. "Yosemite is just a really active, wild place. It's always changing," he said. "It doesn't make it any less tragic when someone gets in the way of that."

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