The 71-year-old man from Los Angeles collapsed and died Tuesday at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park as temperatures reached 121 degrees, authorities announced.
This summer, tourists are flocking to one of the hottest places on Earth and that doesn’t mean a cool Miami club or chic New York City restaurant, but actually one of the most scorching places on the planet — Death Valley.
As visitors go to Death Valley in droves during a record heat wave, a tourist from Los Angeles has died after collapsing in the park, according to reports.
The 71-year-old man from Los Angeles collapsed and died Tuesday at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park as temperatures reached 121 degrees, authorities announced.
National Park Service officials believe he had likely just been hiking the popular trail.
The man was near the bathroom area and collapsed, authorities say. Other visitors noticed and called 911 and National Park Service and Inyo County Sheriff’s Office responded.
Mercy Air’s helicopter was not able to respond due to the high temperature and park rangers arrived at 3:47 p.m. and did CPR and used an automated external defibrillator but were not able to save the man, authorities announced.
It is the second heat related death in the area as a 65-year-old man passed away on July 3 from heat exhaustion, authorities said.
Death Valley has experienced 28 days of temperatures in excess of 110 degrees this year, according to the National Weather Service.
Yet, despite the intense and unsafe heat, tourists are still coming to visit the narrow 282-foot basin on the California-Nevada border to experience how the triple-digit temperatures feel against their skin, CBS News reported.
Some people have gathered at the temperature reading in recent days, some wearing fur coats as an ironic joke, to experience the heat and snap a picture to impress family and friends on social media, CBS News reported.
"I just want to go to a place, sort of like Mount Everest, to say, you know, you did it," William Cadwallader of Las Vegas told the Associated Press.
The National Park Service has issued warnings of the extreme heat and say heat stroke sets in when the body’s core temperature rises above 104 degrees.
Classic signs of heat stroke include throbbing headache; dizziness and light-headedness; lack of sweating despite the heat; red, hot, and dry skin; muscle weakness or cramps; nausea and vomiting; rapid heartbeat (either strong or weak); rapid, shallow breathing; behavioral changes such as confusion, disorientation, or staggering; seizures; and unconsciousness. Seek immediate medical help if heat stroke is suspected, according to the National Park Service.
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