A man hiking in Zion National Park has fallen to his death, park officials said Saturday.

On Friday at about 3 p.m., the 55-year-old man was scrambling up a small, unnamed side canyon off Highway 9, said Zion National Park spokesman David Eaker.

About 20 feet up, the man slipped and fell on his head. While his hiking partners tried to revive him, a witness headed for the park's east entrance, about 2 miles away, to report the fall.

Park rangers, who are also medics, arrived at the scene about 12 minutes later with a defibrillator, but the man died at the scene.

Eaker did not release his name and hometown because all family members have not been notified. The Associated Press reported the man is from Salt Lake City. The Kane County Sheriff's Office and National Park Service are investigating the fall.

Lindsay Whitehurst