Originally posted by Kerrowdown That's tragic that this could happen at such a major visitor attraction.
Deaths in National Parks happen with some regularity. Visitors are unfamiliar with the unique terrain, medical help is far away, sometimes things still go wrong despite good planning, sometimes people do very stupid things, and the National Parks are supposed to be kept natural and accessible.
A few years ago a group went off trail to illegally soak in the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. A man slipped into scalding acidic water and died quickly; his body dissolved before it could be recovered.
I don't know enough about the recent 2 deaths plus 1 injury at Delicate Arch to assign blame. I am curious how 3 people all fell at the same time. The way I understood the news they fell into the bowl depression seen in voy-tech's photo and were not climbing the arch. Were they lined up vertically in the bowl, and the person closest to the top slid and knocked the others down? Did 1 person fall, and the other 2 were in such a rush to render aid that they also fell?
I'm curious because knowing what went wrong might help make my own hiking and photography more safe.