Cruise ship passenger dies in fall during hike in Alaska

A cruise passenger from Texas was found dead after he and another passenger fell while hiking in Alaska on Tuesday, authorities said.

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According to a news release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety, Britian Pool, 32, was found dead off the Mount Roberts trail at about 8:10 p.m.

A second passenger suffered minor injuries and was rescued by Juneau Mountain Rescue, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Officials said that Pool had slid farther down the mountain and was located by drones. Pool was dead at the scene due to his injuries from the fall. His remains were transported to the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office and his next of kin was notified.

Both men were passengers on a cruise ship and were visiting Juneau.

Hiking guides told KTUU how residents and tourists can stay safe while hiking in Alaska’s backcountry.

“Very rarely do things go wrong where some single big incident happens,” Carl Donahue, owner and guide for Expedition Alaska, told the television station. “Almost all the time, there are lots of little things that interact with one another and all of a sudden you’re a lot further down the trail in the wrong direction than you expected to be.”

Two months ago, a 62-year-old woman who was a passenger on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship was found dead in Juneau after texting her family that she was going on a hike.

Her body was found approximately 1,700 feet beneath the ridge line of her intended hiking route.

Kate Evans, an adventure guide who conducts tours on Alaska’s glaciers, told KTUU that preparation is crucial to ensuring safety on the trail.

“(I recommend) letting someone know where you’re going and a time that you’re going to be returning,” she told the television station. “Having all of the items necessary in case there was an emergency and you were to be stuck out there by yourself.”

“Have a skill set that meets the conditions of where you’re at,” Donahue added. “If you’re going up some pretty steep climb or doing glacier travel, have a skill set that meets that, have equipment that meets that.”