June 14, 2009 - At about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2009, Yosemite Emergency Communications Center received 911 calls regarding an individual who had fallen from the cables on Half Dome. Manoj Kumar, a 40 year old male from San Ramon, California, had gone to the top of Half Dome and was descending. Day time weather conditions mirrored those of the last several weeks with clouds developing midday with afternoon showers.
At the time of the 911 calls individuals on the summit reported being caught in a hail storm and unable to descend. The park helicopter transported two Park Rangers to the scene of the fatality. Upon arrival Park Rangers accessed the victim and determined he was deceased from severe system trauma.
An additional team of five Park Rangers were flown to Half Dome to begin the controlled evacuation of 41 visitors from the summit and cables. Many of the individuals had been unable to descend due to the incident, as well as exposure to the cold and wet elements which they had experienced for nearly two hours. The evacuation was completed by 8:15 Saturday evening; however, it was nearly 1:45 this morning before all visitors had returned to the trailhead.
There is an ongoing investigation which is focusing on the actions of the individual that led to the slip and fall, any contributing factors, as well as wet rock due to rainfall.
The last hiker who died on Half Dome was Hirofumi Nohara, who slipped to his death on the cables on June 16, 2007.
Two other Half Dome fatalities involved women who were hiking on Half Dome when the cables were down. These were Jennifer Bettles, who died on April 21, 2007 and Emily Sandal, who died on November 8, 2006.
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