A 14-year-old Spanish teenager died this Monday in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, adjacent to the Navarrese Pyrenees, in a fall down a ravine while hiking with her father, Spanish diplomatic sources confirmed.
The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in the Barétous Valley area, in the commune of Arette, where they had gone on Easter vacation. The minor slipped while they were hiking on the Séguitte plateau, and it was her father who alerted the emergency services.
"Apparently, he slipped and fell down a rocky ledge, sliding for about a hundred meters. It is a very accident-prone area," said Pierre Casabonne, mayor of Arette, according to the public broadcaster France Bleu. He added that her mother "decided to stay in the rural house where they were staying. It's horrible."
After the accident, the father, in a state of shock according to the information provided by the first mayor, found that he was unable to help her and retraced the path that had taken them to the Séguitte plateau to seek help.
The French mountain rescue services were at the scene until 7:30 p.m. and mobilized a helicopter to evacuate the deceased minor.
Sources from the Spanish embassy in France confirmed the death and that the Spanish Consulate in Pau is in contact with the French Gendarmerie, which has been responsible for the rescue of the body, and with the Prefecture, responsible for the investigation of the event.
The Consulate and the Consular Emergency Unit of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have made themselves available to the family to provide assistance and collaborate in the repatriation.
