A dog walker in the UK tragically fell 600 feet to his death from the peak of Helvellyn, one of the Lake District’s tallest mountains, according to a report in The Telegraph. The unnamed man was reported missing by his wife after he went on a walk with his black labrador. As per the police, the wife had been tracking her husband’s progress on the phone but noticed he had not moved for a few hours, which prompted her to inform the authorities.

The search operation involved seven mountain teams, two coastguard and rescue helicopters probing the numerous routes leading to Helvellyn’s summit, where his phone last signalled. However, the atrocious weather conditions meant that a total of 68 rescue personnel from various teams including Patterdale, Keswick, Langdale Ambleside, Cockermouth, Penrith, and Kirkby Stephen had to spend two days to complete the operation.

As per Cumbria Police, the man had left a holiday home in Grasmere and gone out on his bicycle with his dog. On the first day, the search had to be called off around 1:30 am as the safety of the team members could have been compromised.

Also Read | Miracle At Kilauea Volcano: Toddler Snatched From Brink Of 400-Ft Cliff

Body recovered

On the second day, the team, using a rope system, descended a headwall down towards Red Tarn where the dog was found “safe and well” on a ledge. After the team members were lowered, the man’s body was found near the lake on the eastern side of the mountain.

“The man’s body was lowered by stretcher to the back of Red Tarn, then carried down to Greenside and transported back to Patterdale Base where it was handed over to Cumbria Police. The whole incident took 20 hours to complete over two days,” a mountain rescue spokesman told the publication.

“We would like to send our condolences to the man’s family and friends and our thanks to the various teams and search and rescue helicopter crews who assisted with the search and subsequent recovery.”

Meanwhile, the police said the death was not believed to be suspicious.

A climber who fell nearly 2,000 feet down the side of Mount Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island this weekend survived with only minor injuries. The climber, who has not been identified, was part of a group that was attempting to scale the mountain when he lost his footing and slipped. He fell down a steep slope, tumbling over rocks and ice.

According to the New Zealand Police, police were alerted that a climber had fallen while climbing with a group around the creator entrance, near the summit, at 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 9. Having watched their fellow climber slide down the mountain and out of view, another member of the group climbed down to try and locate them.

A member of the Taranaki Alpine Rescue team responded quickly to help locate a fallen climber on Mount Taranaki this weekend. The rescue member happened to be climbing in the area at the time of the accident. The climber was located by their fellow group member, and the Alpine Rescue climber had minor injuries. They had lost their ice axe and crampons during the fall. The rescue member helped the climber down the mountain, where they were reunited with the rest of their group.

“Thanks to recent spring weather, the ice had softened, and the snow caught the climbers fall. He is exceptionally lucky to be alive. These are challenging areas, and when things go wrong, there are often serious consequences,” the police said in a news release.

As per the police statement, the incident occurred in the exact location where, tragically, two climbers lost their lives two years ago.