Climber died in 'terrible accident' on holiday

A climber who fell 20 metres to his death was on holiday with his father at the time of the "terrible accident", an inquest has heard.

Zachary Cook, 22, from Winterbourne near Bristol, was climbing a route during a trip to Malaga in Spain when he died on 11 December 2024.

He suffered fatal injuries in the fall, which happened after he unclipped both of his safety clips from a safety wire, Avon Coroner's Court heard on Monday.

Area coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said a post-mortem examination was conducted in Spain and gave Mr Cook's cause of death as poly (severe) trauma resulting from the fall.

Coroner's officer Alexis Camp told the hearing in a written statement that the pair were climbing a route that "required them to have two safety clips on their person and on the safety wires on the rock face".

He added: "Prior to the start of the climb, they were informed to only unclip one of the safety clips from the safety wire at any one time and never to unclip both safety clips at the same time.

"Around halfway through the route, Zachary unclipped both of his safety clips from the safety wire, which resulted in him falling around 20 metres below."

The court heard that a group of medics were in the vicinity and went to Mr Cook's aid but he died later at the scene.

Mr Harrowing said: "The family have no concerns surrounding any of the treatment or care received by Zachary from any of the medical professionals involved.

"They believe this was a terrible accident and nothing more could have been done."

He recorded a conclusion of misadventure, adding: "He fell around 20 metres while climbing causing him to suffer traumatic injuries.

"The conclusion as to the death based on the evidence will be recorded as misadventure.

"The family [are] not in attendance today but I nonetheless send my most sincerest condolences to the family and all the friends of Zachary at this time."

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