LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) A Japanese hiker fell to his death while climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in California, U.S. media reports said Monday.
Hirofumi Nohara, 37, was climbing the granite peak in the national park, one of the most popular and scenic day hikes in the United States, when he slipped and fell. He was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday afternoon, a Yosemite park ranger told the California newspaper The Modesto Bee.
Nohara, who was in the U.S. on a work visa, was climbing with four friends. He did not appear to be engaging in any unsafe activities, according to the initial investigation by the National Park Service, the reports said.
About 10 to 12 people die in Yosemite each year, but there have been few fatalities on Half Dome, the park ranger told the Bee.