Man dies after 800ft cliff fall

THE Local Market will be held on Wednesday, March 7, at the Memorial Hall, with new stalls including a Body Shop representative. This may be the final market held at this venue so come along and grab some great items from local makers, including local produce and handmade crafts. Free entry. Refreshments for sale. Opens at 2pm. A WALKER has died after falling more than 800ft down a cliff on Snowdon.

Llanberis Mountain Rescue team were called to the notorious Clogwyn Coch just after 12.30pm on Saturday.

The incident was witnessed by two members of the public who made emergency calls to North Wales Police after seeing the male climber fall from the Snowdon Railway track.

It is believed that the walker may have slipped on ice and snow.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Eight mountain rescue volunteers were airlifted by the Coastguard Rescue 936 helicopter to Clogwyn station, about threequarters of the way up Snowdon, to assist with the recovery.

Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team said on Facebook: “The team received two separate calls from North Wales Police within 10 minutes. The first call was a report of someone having seen a person falling some distance from a railway track, and the second a report of a male having fallen down a steep cliff around 300 metres down from the summit, near the train track.

“A team coordinator was able to quickly connect both of the informants from each of the incidents and established that both of the incidents were linked, and that a male had slipped on ice and snow and fallen from the railway track in to Clogwyn Coch, some 250m.”

Within 15 minutes, a team doctor was on scene and confirmed the man was dead. Due to the seriousness of the incident the assistance of a rescue helicopter was requested.

“Eight team members were airlifted up to Clogwyn station and made their way up to the team doctor and casualty.

“The team would like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”

Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team have issued warnings to walkers not to follow the railway tracks when leaving the summit because they run perilously close to steep crags. Snow and ice can make it incredibly dangerous during winter and the spot has claimed the lives of several walkers in the past, including brothers James and Christopher McCallionin 2009.