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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Staff and agencies

Teenager who died on Scafell Pike is named as Lee Jones

A teenager who died while trying to climb England's highest mountain has been named by police as Lee Jones.

Jones, from Matlock in Derbyshire, had camped with a friend at Wasdale Head near Scafell Pike in Cumbria before they set off at 11.30am on Friday to climb the peak.

Cumbria police received a call from the friend at 5.30pm to report they had got lost on the mountain and his friend was missing.

Jones was last seen around 3pm on Friday near the 978-metre (3,208 ft) summit when the two climbers became separated in snowy conditions.

Wasdale mountain rescue began a search but called it off due to "atrocious" weather.

The search was resumed the next day with the help of a navy helicopter and at 11.45am on Saturday a body was found.

The body was taken to Wasdale Head and identified as the missing 19-year-old climber.

Canoe death

In another outdoor new year tragedy, a man died after falling out of a canoe as he navigated his way down a steep-sided river gorge in Cornwall, police said.

The 49-year-old, who was on holiday with his family, was pulled from the river Fowey at Golitha Falls on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor on Sunday afternoon.

Devon and Cornwall police said he was winched up by a search and rescue helicopter and flown to Derriford hospital in Plymouth, where attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead.

A police spokesman said they received reports "a canoeist had fallen out of his canoe and was reportedly clinging to a rock" at Draynes, near Liskeard, at around 3.29pm.

It is believed the man had been canoeing alone and not as part of a group, the spokesman added.

David Wells, publicity officer for the Port of Plymouth Canoeing Association whose members take to the waters all over Devon and Cornwall, described the incident as "a terrible tragedy".

"To anyone on the outside it sounds dangerous, plunging down a rapid in the cold waters of winter, but all canoeists and kayakers know that while there are obvious risks, it is much safer than it appears," he said.

Wells said many experienced canoeists would have been out on Sunday.

"The rivers are at their best for white water sport at this time of year," he said.

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