The infamous “Devil’s Pass” mountain in northern Spain claimed the life of a British man.
The 25-year-old is thought to have fallen while attempting to climb Anboto, a 4,367-foot limestone mountain peak in the Basque Country.
On the morning of Friday, June 24, search and rescue personnel discovered his lifeless body.
On Saturday, June 25, police sources stated that the deceased was a 25-year-old British male.
On the afternoon of June 23, he died after falling while climbing with a British companion.
The couple’s residence in Spain or whether they were visiting the region was not immediately clear.
They are assumed to be delivery drivers rather than expert mountaineers.
According to a local story, they were sleeping at a hotel in Eibar, an industrial city on the banks of the River Ego in the province of Gipuzkoa.
According to the same source, the two buddies grew apart and the deceased continued his ascent alone until tragedy occurred for reasons that are anticipated to be investigated further.
He is said to have encountered a storm while attempting to climb Alluitz, the second-highest peak in the Urkiola mountain range, and Anboto, the mountain’s highest peak, on the Devil’s Pass.
According to sources, he may have fallen while attempting to descend from the peak, which may be dangerous in wet weather.
‘Emergency services have located the lifeless body of the mountaineer who we had been searching for since Thursday evening,’ a spokeswoman for the area’s Ertzaintza police unit revealed.
The 25-year-old was reported missing close to the summit of the Alluitz mountain around 8.30 p.m.
‘A police helicopter discovered his body in the canal de Infernu Zubi, close to the summit of Alluitz, where it looks he may have fallen.
The body of the climber has now been sent to Bilbao for a post-mortem.
The Devil’s Pass, or Paso del Diablo as it is known in Spanish, and the vicinity of the Anboto top, which the British man was attempting to reach, have both seen a number of fatalities.
In an April 2010 article regarding the passing of a 58-year-old man on the route, one local newspaper said that there had been 12 fatalities in the ten years between 2000 and 2010.
A discussion about installing chains to aid people over it was sparked at the time by reports.
After a deadly accident there a few years ago, the president of the Basque Mountain Federation said: “It’s not a difficult pass to traverse, but it is dangerous.” Vertigo-stricken mountaineers shouldn’t use it.