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Rockfall in Zion National Park leaves 3 injured and several stranded

Posted at 8:17 AM, Aug 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-25 10:19:24-04

SPRINGDALE, Utah — Three people were injured and several were temporarily stranded after a large rockfall slid down Cable Mountain in Zion National Park Saturday evening.

According to a news release from Zion National Park, park officials were notified of the rockfall around 5:50 P.M. near the Weeping Rock Shuttle Stop. A large rock from Cable Mountain broke off approximately 3,000 feet above Weeping Rock.

The rocks hit the closed East Rim Trail, knocking down trees and covering visitors in the area with smaller rocks, branches and plumes of dust and sand. Shuttle were stopped for 90 minutes, according to park officials.

Three people were injured during the incident. One of the individuals was taken to the hospital by park ambulance. Their conditions were not mentioned in the news release.

Several visitors were temporarily stranded at the end of Weeping Rock trail for a short time. According to the news release, they were “able to self-rescue.”

The Weeping Rock Trail and Weeping Rock Shuttle Stop are closed until further notice. The Echo Canyon and Observation Point canyoneering routes are also closed, as well as the East Rim Trail from Observation Point to weeping Rock.