A social media influencer died Sunday after falling from Spain’s highest bridge during a publicity stunt.
A 26-year-old daredevil identified only as a British citizen was climbing the 630-foot Castilla-La Mancha bridge in Talavera de la Reina when he plunged to his death shortly after 7 a.m., according to The Times of London.
The man reportedly attempted his climb without any safety equipment roughly 90 miles southwest of Madrid. Law enforcement said the victim scaled “around a quarter of the total height of the bridge” before losing his footing. He was accompanied by a second climber who was uninjured. That 24-year-old adventurer, who was also attempting to scale Europe’s second-tallest bridge, wasn’t wearing a harness either, according to Metro.
The second climber was initially too traumatized to speak after witnessing his climbing partner’s fatal fall. The pair reportedly planned to document their ill-fated stunt on social media. It’s not clear if the dead climber’s fall was caught on film.
“The reason he fell is not clear and will be investigated by a local court,” a law enforcement official reportedly said.
The bridge may have been wet due to an earlier rainfall, according to Metro. The climbers are believed to have traveled to Spain to conquer the Castilla-La Mancha bridge.
Climbing the cable-stayed bridge that stretches over the Tagus River isn’t legal, but has been attempted by other attention seekers, according to English outlet the Daily Express. Locals reportedly dubbed the overpass “The Bridge to Nowhere” as a result of its underutilization since being opened in 2011.
