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Woman Survives 30-Foot Fall Into Grand Canyon

Portillo Suffers Five Fractures In Leg

POSTED: 12:23 pm MST August 22, 2008
UPDATED: 5:10 pm MST August 22, 2008

Norma Portillo just wanted to have her picture taken. Instead, she ended up falling 30 feet into the Grand Canyon, Phoenix station KPHO reported.

The family was headed to Las Vegas when it decided to stop off at the Grand Canyon's Mather Point for a few photos.

"She wanted her picture taken, and she was up on the ledge," Portillo's daughter, Erica said. "Her sandal got caught. That's when I saw my mom trip over a rock, and I saw my mom fall forward."

Norma Portillo said she "rolled and rolled five times," Portillo said. "I [saw] black in my head."

Portillo landed on a narrow ledge. Had she not landed on it, she could have plunged another 100 feet.

Martin Portillo, Norma's husband, said his first reaction was to jump down after her, and he did, injuring his own leg in the process.

Norma Portillo suffered five fractures in her leg, and she has a compressed vertebrae. Paramedics pulled her to safety and brought her to Flagstaff Medical Center.

"God saved me," she said.

Her family agrees.

"We're all blessed she's here because for a moment there we thought we lost her," Martin Portillo said.

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