An ice climber plunged 40 metres to his death while attempting to scale the Rjukanfissen waterfall in Norway’s southern Telemark region.
A group of tourists at the top of the waterfall on Sunday morning heard a loud thud from below them when the climber fell down to a ledge and immediately alerted rescue workers, who were unable to reach the man in time to save him.
The rescue workers were said to have been trying to get to the ledge for hours, but it was not big enough a helicopter to land on. Eventually voluntary climbers managed to scramble their way where the man was lying but it was too late as he died soon after.
Police spokesman Ole Jorgen Lund said the tourists were able to call out to the man’s co-climber further down the waterfall to check the seriousness of the incident before calling for help. He explained that the climber was still alive after the fall, but had severely injured his back and was believed to have suffered internal injuries.