A man climbing on the First Flatiron on Thursday afternoon fell to his death, the second person to die following an accidental plummet off of the iconic Boulder landmark since August but only the second in nearly a decade.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Kevin Parker said that the man — who has not been publicly identified — did not appear to be using any kind of climbing gear, but rescuers were searching the area for any signs of a backpack or gear on Thursday afternoon.

He added that it does not appear the man was with anyone else at the time of his fall, and investigators aren’t sure how far he fell.

Sgt. Dave Booton said that investigators have spoken with two people who reported hearing the man fall, but they have not been able to locate a third person who possibly saw the man fall.

The sheriff’s office, Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, American Medical Response ambulance, Boulder Fire Department and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group responded to the scene shortly after 1 p.m. and determined by 2 p.m. that the man was dead.

Thursday’s death marks the second time since August that a person has been killed following an accidental fallen from the First Flatiron. Carter Christensen, 17, who spent a good portion of his childhood and teenage years in Longmont, fell from the landmark in August, roughly an hour after taking a photo of himself and announcing on social media he had climbed to the top without any climbing gear.

Christensen’s death marked the first accidental fatal fall since 2008, when Edward J. Thompson, a 47-year-old Aurora man, died following a fall.

Many climbing routes exist on the rock formation’s face and it is considered the second largest flatiron overall. The difficulty ranges depending on which route is taken and whether it’s climbed with or without ropes and gear.

Rescues and falls are common, especially in the summer months when the Flatirons become crowded with climbers and hikers, such as when Jeremy Cadwell spent a night on a ledge of the Second Flatiron last year.

But fatalities on the Flatirons are more rare. In February 2016, the body of a man was found near the Third Flatiron in what police believed was a suicide.

Anyone who witnessed the fall on Thursday is asked to call Boulder County dispatch at 303-441-4444.

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars

John Bear: 303-473-1355, bearj@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/johnbearwithme