Grand Canyon, Ariz. - On Tuesday, June 28, at 3:15 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report from Grand Canyon Railways staff of a train passenger with difficulty breathing.
According to dispatch time stamps, rangers were on scene within five minutes and found the male passenger to be unresponsive and no longer breathing.CPR was in process by 3:21 p.m.
In spite of the rapid response time, park emergency responders were not able to revive 72-year old John Debelack of Saddlebrooke, Arizona.
The Grand Canyon Railways departure to Williams, Arizona was delayed by approximately 40 minutes as a result of the incident.
The National Park Service would like to thank the train passengers who remained calm and allowed rangers to do their jobs, and Grand Canyon Railways staff who responded quickly and provided seamless assistance and accommodation throughout the incident.
-NPS-
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
