British pair killed in Alps fall

Two Britons died after plunging more than 300ft down a rock face while mountain climbing in the Italian Alps, the Foreign Office has said.

Peter James Hussey, 46, and Sarah Kathleen Ball, 33, are thought to have fallen while scaling a frozen waterfall near Cogne, in north-west Italy.

Mr Hussey suffered multiple injuries and died in the fall and Ms Ball died later at the scene on Saturday.

The pair were with six others climbing the frozen Acheronte waterfall.

Alarm raised

An Italian police spokesman said the couple were tied together and it was thought, one may have slipped and fallen, dragging the other with them.

The accident happened at an altitude of 6,000ft.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "I can confirm that two people were involved in the incident which involved a group of six climbers, two of whom appear to have fallen to their deaths."

A group of French climbers raised the alarm after spotting the two climbers falling down the valley.

A mountain rescue helicopter which was in the area was diverted to the scene.

Brigadier Delfino Viglione, of the local police, said the group were all part of the Mountaineering Club of Great Britain.

The rest of the group were still in their hotel on Sunday night and were due to return to the UK on Monday.

Brigadier Viglione said Ms Ball was from Ambleside in the Lake District while Mr Hussey was a father-of-two from Lincoln.