LOS ANGELES (DPA) – A woman died in Death Valley National Park this week as temperatures soared to nearly 48.9 deg C.

The extreme heat is expected to continue through this weekend, with highs forecast at 50 deg C for Sunday (Sept 1).

Around 6pm last Tuesday, emergency responders received calls about a non-responsive visitor south of Badwater, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

National park rangers as well as officials from the Inyo County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol headed to the scene, but the woman died before they arrived.

The cause of death is under investigation, and no other details were released. The high temperature in Death Valley that day was 48.3 deg C, according to the National Weather Service.

Heat-related illnesses and single-vehicle accidents are among the most common hazards in the park, the National Park Service said in the news release.

Two days before the woman’s death, another woman died in the park in a single-vehicle crash.

The driver was heading westbound on CA-190 near Twenty Mule Team Canyon when she veered off the road and collided with a rock wall, the National Park Service said.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for this weekend, urging holiday travellers to pack extra water before venturing into the desert.

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