An Indian-American man died during an attempt to hike from the South Rim of the United States Grand Canyon to the North Rim in a single day. The 55-year-old man named Ranjith Varma, from Manassas in Virginia, was hiking with a group of six others on September 9 when the incident occurred, reported Arizona Daily Sun. 

The Grand Canyon National Park spokesperson, Joelle Baird, on Monday said that Varma had become unresponsive after which members of the hiking group and bystanders initiated CPR. 

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received an emergency call at around 1.55 pm of a hiker in distress on the North Kaibab Trail.

Baird said that rescue personnel had to use specialised helicopter maneuvers to reach the terrain, which was steep and rocky. The attempts to resuscitate Varma were unsuccessful and he was taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office in Flagstaff.

Although the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained, Baird said that it was likely the heat was a factor as temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach over 49 degrees Celsius in the shade during summers.

Park rangers advise against hiking in the inner canyon between 10 am and 4 pm during summers.

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. (Photo credit: Pixabay)

On the day of the incident, the temperatures within the inner canyon were over 37 degrees, the report said.

The incident was the third death of a hiker within Grand Canyon National Park this year. Earlier in May, an Indiana woman died while attempting to hike the Bright Angle Trail from the rim to the river and back in a single day while, in July, a woman hiking in the remote Tuweep area also lost her life. 

(With agency inputs)