A 21-year-old Irish woman has died after she fell 500 feet while rock climbing at the Caminito del Rey pathway in Málaga, Spain.
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According to The Mirror, the woman, whose name has not been released, fell after losing her footing on the pathway. Her body was recovered by emergency service after the alarm was raised just after 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11.
A male companion of the woman also lost his footing but managed to grab onto a nearby bush-covered rock. After being rescued, he was said to be in shock. Law enforcement believed the duo had been making their descent but took the wrong route by mistake.
Multiple media outlets reported that the man and woman were in a spot called the Swiss Sector, next to a hiking area called the Arabic Staircase. The man allegedly told responding law enforcement that he and the woman lost their balance and went over the side of a ravine.
A spokesman for Spain’s Civil Guard stated the woman was Irish after earlier reports indicated she was a British citizen.
A British Climber Died While Rock Climbing in Near the Same Area Weeks Before
The woman’s tragic death comes weeks after a male British climber died around the same area. The man fell and injured himself in an area known as Puente del Mono, which is known in English as Money Bridge. It is also close to the village of El Chorro.
After falling, the climber was knocked unconscious. He then went into cardiac arrest. Although first responders were able to get him on a helicopter, he was pronounced dead following the rescue.
A spokesman for the Guardia Civil in Malaga spoke out about the man’s death.
“Members of the specialist Civil Guard Greim mountain rescue team based in Alora near Malaga,” the spokesman said. “Supported by a Civil Guard helicopter based in Granada, have rescued the body of a young British man.”
The spokesman also shared more details about the rescue efforts.
“He had suffered a fall while he was crossing a via ferrata in the area known as Monkey Bridge near to El Chorro,” the spokesman said. “When officers reached the man, he had gone into cardiac arrest. Despite practicing CPR on him and evacuating him rapidly from the scene by helicopter to a nearby heliport where medical services were waiting, they were only able to confirm his death.”