Briton quizzed over Siberian death plunge

A BRITISH tourist has been ‘interrogated’ by Russian police after his friend fell to his death in Siberia.

The 60-year-old victim, also a Briton named only as Anthony C, screamed as he lost his footing near the edge of Lake Baikal and slipped down a sheer drop.

The climber’s body was recovered last Friday on a rocky beach at the edge of the world’s deepest lake.

His companion, named as Andrew D, 56, was ‘interrogated’ by the Russian Investigative Committee, the equivalent of the FBI, local media reported.

The pair, from Huddersfield, were travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway and had planned to go to China after their trip to Lake Baikal.

Andrew D told local media: ‘I was walking in front when I heard screams and turned around. He was rolling down the hill. I tried to help him but failed.’

He found a group of women hikers who called the emergency services. ‘I still can’t cope with it and don’t believe this could happen,’ he added.

Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, which reported the investigation, added: ‘It is very likely it was just an accident.’