A British climber has been killed after he and his friend were engulfed by an avalanche while scaling a frozen waterfall in Norway.
The man died in the accident on Friday, but due to bad weather, mountain rescue crews were only able to recover his body on Tuesday. His friend, a man in his 30s, was taken to the hospital by helicopter. His injuries were not life-threatening, according to Norwegian news site VG.
The pair had attempted The Gausta Marathon, a frozen waterfall slope close to Rjukan, when caught in a snow and ice wall.
The survivor, also British, was rescued on Saturday afternoon and flown to Ullevål Hospital after a descent which took teams “several hours”, local rescue officials said.
The operation lasted approximately 24 hours and the rescue crew prioritised rescuing the injured climber.
An update from the Telemark Red Cross Relief Corps on X said: “Seventeen crews from rødekors in Telemark are now out in the landslide-affected area at gaustatoppenfossen.
“The conditions are challenging for the crews with visibility of 20-30 meters.
“They now have to move forward on skis and snowshoes in the wet snow and be secured with ropes.”
In addition to the weather, there was also poor mobile phone coverage in the area, the rescue team said.
Jørn Knustad, a local climbing guide, said the area is named the Gausta Marathon because it is the longest waterfall in the region at around 17 rope lengths long.
Mr Knustad said the area that the pair traversed is not popular with climbers because the waterfalls there take a long time to scale.
He told The Mirror: “It is unlikely that they were poorly trained - they would hardly have embarked on such a trip. A snow and ice avalanche is the cause of this incident."
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Norway, and a British man who has been injured, and are in contact with the local authorities”.
