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One day after deadly rockslide at Yosemite National Park, a larger rock falls

UPDATE 9/28/2017 4:20 p.m. The Latest on a rock fall in Yosemite that killed a British climber

Yosemite National Park has had another massive rock fall a day after a slab dropped from El Capitan, killing a British climber and injuring a second.

Ken Yager of the Yosemite Climbing Association said Thursday’s rock fall was larger than the one a day before on the iconic rock formation.

Yager says he witnessed a large cloud of dust and heard sirens. Images show a huge plume of smoke in the wake of the rock fall. He says traffic on a road near the base of El Capitan has stopped.

PREVIOUS STORY: 9/27/2017 5:04 p.m. Yosemite National Park officials say rock fall at El Capitan has killed one person and injured a second.

PREVIOUS STORY:

Officials at Yosemite National Park in California say a chunk of rock broke off El Capitan along one of the world’s most famously scaled routes at the height of climbing season.

Ranger Scott Gediman said Wednesday that witnesses made multiple calls reporting the rock fall around 2 p.m. PDT. He estimates 30 or more climbers were on the wall at the time, but he could not confirm injuries or the size of the rock fall.

El Capitan is one of the world’s largest granite monoliths towering vertically 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) from the Yosemite Valley floor. Mountaineers worldwide travel to the park to scale the sheer face.

Gediman says the park’s helicopter is helping assess the damage.

The rock fall happened along the Waterfall route on El Capitan’s eastern buttress.

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