2 climbers at Yosemite National Park fall to their deaths

El Capitan. Photo: maxpixel.net

June 2 (UPI) — Two climbers died Saturday morning after falling while climbing the Freeblast Route on El Capitan inside Yosemite National Park.

Emergency officials received multiple calls about the incident, which happened about 8:15 a.m. Authorities had not released their identities Saturday evening pending family notification.

According to a statement by park officials, the investigation is ongoing and additional details were not immediately available about what caused the climbers to fall.

Last month, a hiker was killed in the park after falling from one of the park’s most identifiable formations — the Cable Route on the Half Dome.

A park spokesperson said the climber was with a partner, scaling the steepest part of the trail where rangers recently installed cables to help hikers get to the top of the 8,800-foot rock face. That death was the first on the Half Dome since 2011 and the first in the park this year.

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