1 dead, multiple injured after motorboat flips in at Grand Canyon National Park

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Officials confirm that one person died and multiple people were injured after a motorboat flipped over in Grand Canyon National Park. According to the park’s Twitter account, the incident took place at Bedrock Rapid on the Colorado River at 2:12 p.m. Saturday.  Emergency personnel were dispatched to treat and transport injured patients.

It was unclear how many people on the motorboat were injured and park officials didn’t immediately send any updates Sunday.  John Dillon, the executive director of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association that represents the outfitters permitted in the canyon, said the boat flipped on a technical rapid when it came up against a rock.

Bedrock Rapid features a large rock island that splits the channel left and right, creating difficulty for some rafters. According to GoRafting.com, “you can get into trouble here by failing to make the move around the rock island and flipping off this feature.”

Editorial credit: Jim Mallouk / Shutterstock.com

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