Man dies after mountain race fall

The fall happened just above the Ffynnon Llugwy reservoir

Mountain rescuers in Snowdonia say a man has died after falling while competing in a 1,000-metre peaks race.

The 35-year-old man fell 150 metres (500 feet) after becoming lost during the event when he apparently ran into unexpected low cloud.

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation said the fall happened on Carnedd Llewelyn, just above the Ffynnon Llugwy Reservoir.

An air ambulance and a rescue helicopter were launched.

Rescue team spokesman, Chris Lloyd, said the alert was raised shortly before 1100 GMT and initially suggested the casualty was a woman, who had had a suspected heart attack.

He said that shortly after the rescue team was mobilised, another call came in to say the alert was for a man.

'Very big change'

He added that neither ambulance staff nor the air ambulance could reach the man because he was on steep ground.

Carnedd Llewelyn has a summit at 1,062m (3,484 ft) and is Wales' third highest peak.

The rescue helicopter from RAF Valley lowered its winchman to the scene, who attempted to use a defibrilator.

The casualty was flown to Ysyty Gwynedd in Bangor, where he was pronounced dead.

Mr Lloyd said the mountain weather forecast did not include predictions of low cloud.

He said: "There was a very big change. They would have started in a beautiful sunny, clear, blue sky but would rapidly have climbed up into heavy cloud and would have relied on good navigation to find their way.

"It's very sad to see a fellow mountain enthusiast coming to such a sad end."