A 58-year-old man died Sunday after falling while rappelling in Pine Creek Canyon, one of Zion National Park's most popular technical canyons.

Park officials said rescuers were called at about 12:10 p.m. after a 911 text reported a canyoneering accident at the canyon's final rappel. Bystanders started CPR while National Park Service crews made their way through difficult terrain to reach the scene, arriving about an hour and 20 minutes later. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at 1:42 p.m., according to Park Service spokesperson Elizabeth Peace. A companion who had been with him was safely rescued from the canyon wall.

Pine Creek Canyon is one of Zion National Park's most popular canyoneering routes, and situated mostly underground. It drops quickly through a sculpted sandstone slot, with a sequence of about 10 rappels, and cold pools below that require a wetsuit to navigate safely.

Though often billed as a good option for newer canyoneers, Pine Creek's accessibility can be deceptive. Skilled teams can move through the technical section in under an hour, while larger or less experienced groups may spend all day navigating the same terrain, according to the popular blog Canoyoneering USA.

"There's no such thing as a beginner canyon that a beginner can just go and do on their own," Tom Jones, founder of the blog and author of the guidebook "Zion: Canyoneering," told SFGATE. "If there were, this might be it -- but it already has the problem of attracting people who aren't very prepared. It's a miracle no one has died on that rappel before."

The final rappel of the route, a 100-foot free rappel where the canyoneer has no wall support, has been a regular site for accidents and injuries, according to Jones.

"It's at the end of the route -- people are smelling the barn as they near the end and make mistakes," Jones said. "Experienced people screw up sometimes, less-experienced climbers forget things. You never know."

Jones did not want to speculate on the cause of the accident while the investigation is ongoing, but rejected online speculation that the canyoneer might have rappelled off the end of his rope like in the recent fatal climbing accident at Yosemite National Park.

All canyoneering within the park requires a permit from the Park Service, but anyone can get one and there are no checks to see if visitors are capable climbers. Guided canyoneering is not permitted within Zion -- anyone canyoneering within the park itself is going on their own. There are quotas throughout the park so canyoneering routes are not overwhelmed. The Park Service did not respond to questions regarding whether the group had obtained a permit for the trip.

At Yosemite National Park, visitors have been caught BASE jumping from El Capitan and climbing Half Dome's cables without permits while skeleton crews handle law enforcement within the park during the ongoing government shutdown.

Many companies offer guided canyoneering in the region just outside of the national park.

"If people want to go canyoneering, do that rather than get yourself in over your head in the park," Jones said.

The Park Service and Washington County Sheriff's Office are actively investigating the death.

Man dies while exploring one of Zion National Park's most popular canyons