A British mountain biker has died after falling more than 60ft while on holiday in Italy.
The unidentified 46-year-old was with a group of friends when the accident happened early on Friday.
They raised the alarm and a specialist mountain rescue paramedic unit was helicoptered to the scene.
The incident happened in thick woodland at Molini di Triora about 50 miles south west of Genoa and in a national park.
Officials said the man was on a marked trail which leads down to a lake and is described in guides as ‘beautiful, fast one. Some small jumps, some rocky sections, enjoy. Don’t miss the bath at the end!’
A spokesperson for the Liguria Mountain Rescue team said: ‘His friends immediately alerted emergency services and a team managed to get there on foot and he was treated at the scene.’
Pictures released by the rescue services show a team of paramedics at the scene with the man’s concerned friends looking on and a helicopter later flying away from the scene.
The man was taken to hospital at Pietra Ligure but doctors were unable to save him.
A British tour guide who runs mountain bike trips in the area told Mail Online: ‘It’s a really popular place and we got loads of groups coming over from the UK for tours.
‘The whole town is devastated by this news – the area lives on tourism and especially mountain biking so the whole community will be shattered.
‘Molino has loads of fabulous trails and they come down through the trees and end up back in the village.’
A local said the group had only arrived a few days ago and were due to leave after the weekend.