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PROVO -- A 24-year-old University of Utah student was killed Tuesday afternoon following a failed BASE jump from a cliff in Rock Canyon.
Medics received a call just after 4 p.m. from people who were concerned the woman was having trouble with her parachute.
Provo Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Jolley said Holly Brittsan, of Idaho, was attempting the jump on the north side of the canyon, in an area called Bad Banannas, but they're not sure if her equipment failed or if something else led to the fall.
"Where she jumped from, [there] was a pinnacle on the cliffs which was about 150 feet down to the sloping terrain that brings you down into the canyon," Jolley said.
Crews worked to resuscitate Brittsan on the mountainside in a northern portion of the canyon, but discontinued their efforts just after 5 p.m. A team of firefighters and members of the mountain rescue squad then went to recover Brittsan's body.
Brittsan was an experienced BASE jumper who had her own equipment, officials reported. She was in the area working on a class project with two other students and brought the jump equipment with her.
When the group finished their work, she decided she wanted to do one jump, Jolley said. A male student accompanied her to the top of the cliff and tried to run down to help once he realized there was a problem.
The cause of the accident is accident is currently under investigation.
"We just know that the chute didn't deploy and do what it normally would do," Jolley said.
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Written by [Paul Nelson](<mailto: pnelson@ksl.com>) and Emiley Morgan.
