13-Year-Old American Boy Survives Miraculously After Falling from Grand Canyon Cliff

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A 13-year-old boy who visited the Grand Canyon in the United States miraculously survived after falling 30 meters down a cliff.

According to the British BBC and other sources on the 14th (local time), Wyatt Kauffman (13), who lives in North Dakota, visited the Grand Canyon North Rim in Arizona with his mother and family on the 8th. At the time of the accident, he was standing on a rock at the edge of the cliff and accidentally slipped while stepping aside to let others take photos, falling about 100 feet (approximately 30 meters) down the cliff.

When Kauffman fell, dozens of Grand Canyon National Park rescue workers were dispatched. They descended the cliff using ropes, pulled Kauffman up, and then transported him by helicopter. It is reported that it took two hours for the rescue workers to safely pull Kauffman up.

The view of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

In an interview with Arizona local broadcaster KPNX at the hospital, Kauffman said, "I don't remember anything after the fall," and "I only remember waking up later and being transported here by ambulance, helicopter, and airplane." He suffered fractures in nine vertebrae and one hand bone, a ruptured spleen, and lung damage, but after receiving treatment, he was discharged for the time being. The Kauffman family decided to travel by road back home to wash away the nightmare of the fall.

Brian Kauffman, the father who was at their home in North Dakota at the time of his son's accident, said, "I sincerely thank everyone for their efforts," and added, "My son's survival is a miracle." He also said, "The two hours (during the rescue) felt like an eternity," and "We are incredibly fortunate to be able to bring our child home in the car's passenger seat, not in a coffin."

The Grand Canyon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and is a representative tourist attraction in the United States, ranked number one on BBC's list of 'Places to Visit Before You Die.' However, various accidents continue to occur there. In June, after a 33-year-old man fell to his death from the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a glass bridge, the New York Post reported that "the Grand Canyon is the national park in the U.S. with the most frequent accidents." According to a report obtained by the media outlet, six people have died and at least 56 have gone missing in the Grand Canyon from 2018 to February of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.