A British man has fallen to his death in a mountaineering accident, as he climbed along a crest known as Devil's Pass in Spain.
The 25-year-old is believed to have fallen as he tried to reach a 4,367ft limestone mountain peak in the Basque Country called Anboto.
His body was discovered by search and rescue teams this morning (June 25) as police confirmed the deceased was a British man aged 25.
He had been climbing with a British friend when he fell to his death on Thursday afternoon prompting a large rescue effort.
A spokesman for the region’s Ertzaintza police force confirmed: “Emergency services have located the lifeless body of the mountaineer who we had been searching for since Thursday evening.
“The alarm was raised around 8.30pm, saying the 25-year-old had gone missing near to the Alluitz mountain summit.
“A police helicopter found his body in a place called the canal de Infernu Zubi, near to the Alluitz peak, where it appears he could have suffered a fall.”
It is not clear whether the pair, who are believed to be delivery drivers, were holidaying in Spain or if they live there.
One local report claimed they had been staying at a hotel in Eibar, an industrial town in the province of Gipuzkoa which lies on the banks of the River Ego.
The same report said the two friends became separated before the Brit continued to climb alone and then tragedy struck.
An investigation has now been launched into his death and how he fell.
His body has been transported to the city of Bilbao for a post mortem.
He is thought to have got caught in a storm as he tried to reach the mountain summit on the Devil’s Pass between Alluitz, the second highest peak of the Urkiola mountain range, and the highest peak Anboto.
Sources said they believe he could have been trying to descend from the dangerous crest, which can be treacherous in wet weather, when he fell.
Several people have been killed on the Devil’s Pass - Paso del Diablo in Spanish - and the area around the Anboto summit which the British man was trying to reach.
Between 2000 and 2010, one local newspaper reported 12 people had died as they covered the death of a 58-year-old man on the pass in April 2010.
Reports at the time led to a debate about whether chains should be installed to help people cross it.
The president of the Basque mountain federation, speaking after a fatal accident there some years ago, said: “It’s not a difficult pass to cross but it is dangerous. It’s not for mountaineers who suffer from vertigo.”
