An Irishman in his early 20s was killed in the United States yesterday after he suffered a fall in Yosemite National Park in California.
The man, who has not yet been named, was hiking with three friends in the Yosemite Falls area of the park just after midnight Irish time. It is thought that as they paused to take pictures at the top, he lost his footing and fell down a steep incline.
Last night, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that an Irish national had been killed in Yosemite and that the matter was being looked after by the park rangers service. A department spokeswoman said there was no question of foul play.
She added that Department of Foreign Affairs officials based in San Francisco have become involved and that the consular division in Dublin is assisting the man's family at home.
Yosemite is one of the most famous parks in the US and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Park rangers said the Irishman's death was the third such death in the park in the past two weeks. Two hikers were killed following separate accidents in the Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls areas of the park.
According to local sources, an average of 10 people are killed each year, mostly climbers suffering falls or hikers getting lost.