A 71-year-old British pensioner has died in Bolivia after falling into boiling hot liquid mud while photographing geysers. The retired magistrate, identified as Rod Keates from Billesden, Leicestershire, was on a walking trip when the accident occurred early on Saturday morning.
Keates fell into a scorching mud pool and screamed for help. Other tourists rescued him, but he died on the way to the hospital. Friend David Mills, also 71, described Keates as an 'explorer by nature' and a 'very generous and kind person'.
'He went out on his own to photograph the geysers on Saturday morning and obviously got too close,' Mills said. 'There's a hard crust on the surface but liquid mud underneath, and it's really hot.'
Keates leaves behind his wife Pat, three daughters, and five grandchildren. Pete Bruning, who took part in charity bike rides with Keates, paid tribute to a 'super chap'.
'We were all shattered and we can't get our minds around the fact he won't be coming home from South America,' Bruning said. 'He was always wanting to go to exotic places - he wanted to see as much of the world as he could.'
