A British woman has died after falling approximately 500 metres while hiking with her partner in the Pyrenees mountains in northern Spain. The 42-year-old, who lived in Finland, was descending the Balaitus Peak near the Spanish-French border on Saturday evening when she slipped in a snow-covered area.
The incident occurred on the Great Diagonal, a popular climbing route to the 3,144-metre summit. Her 53-year-old partner, also a resident of Finland, was present but unharmed. The alarm was raised at around 7.20pm local time.
Spain's Civil Guard confirmed the woman was British-born and stated that an investigation is ongoing. A spokesman said the death is being treated as a tragic accident resulting from a fall. Mountain rescue specialists and a helicopter were deployed to recover her body, which was taken to Zaragoza's Forensic Medicine Institute for a post-mortem.
Weather conditions at the time were reported to be good. The Balaitus Peak is a granite mass marking the start of the High Pyrenees, with seven ridges. Last month, a 61-year-old British hiker was found dead after going missing in the Picos de Europa mountain range in northern Spain.
