Cristina Hodgson
A WOMAN has died after falling down a ravine just metres away from the new hanging El Saltillo Bridge in the Axarquia.
According to witnesses, the victim, 56, from Malaga, fell from a height of about 50 metres and into the Almanchare River.
The incident took place this Tuesday at around 2.30pm, in the area of La Rahige, prior to reaching the newly inaugurated hanging bridge that connects Canillas de Aceituno with Sedella.
Sources close to the investigation suggest that the woman, who was accompanied by her husband, could have lost her balance in a moment of distraction while using her mobile phone.
Following the alert issued by the 112 emergency service, the Guardia Civil’s Mountain Rescue and Intervention Team, together with the Malaga Provincial Consortium’s Fire Brigade, agents from the Infoca Plan, Policia Local and Proteccion Civil were all displaced to the scene of the accident.
The woman’s body was finally recovered late in the afternoon, in an area difficult to access, requiring helicopter assistance.
Vicente Campos, Mayor of Canillas de Aceituno, said it was ‘a very sad day.’
Campos also said that the place where the accident took place is not ‘a complicated spot’ and that in all the most complex sections, adequate protection required on a mountain path are in place.
The corresponding judicial protocol has been activated to clarify the circumstances of the event and no further official statements have been given, pending on the Guardia Civil to close the investigation.
This route, known as the ‘Caminito del Rey de la Axarquia’ forms part of stage 7 of the Gran Senda of Malaga.
