A BRITISH climber, 24, has been killed while climbing down the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps.
He was hit by a falling rock and died instantly when he was thrown down the mountain.
The victim, who has not yet been named, was out on the Hörnli ridge at an altitude of 3380 metres on Monday morning.
He is said to have fallen some 300 metres to his death.
The tragic accident happened at around 2.40am, but police say they don't know why he had been scaling the peak at that hour.
He was out with two other climbers, both of whom were unharmed.
They alerted rescuers who dispatched a helicopter but the man had died before crews arrived.
Valais cantonal police said the public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the tragedy.
The Matterhorn, which straddles Switzerland and Italy, has a pyramidal shape with four faces almost facing the four compass points.
With its distinctive silhouette it is an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps.
The summit is 4478 metres, making it one of the highest mountains in Europe.
It is estimated that 500 alpinists have died on the mountain since the first ascent in 1865.
It comes after climbers were photographed battling crowds to reach the summit of Mount Everest this week.
The haunting photo of a line of mountaineers stepping over a corpse was shared to highlight the dangers on the peak that has claimed 11 lives in nine days.
Most of the deaths on Everest this year have been attributed to exhaustion and tiredness, exacerbated because a crowded route to and from the summit has led to delays.
Five bodies were found on the Himalayan mountain Nanda Devi this week.
A group of eight climbers – including four Brits – failed to return to their base camp on Friday after trying to reach the summit.
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