A climber in New Zealand “miraculously” survived a fall of 600m (1,968ft) with only minor injuries after tumbling down the side of a mountain.
Police said the man fell from Mount Taranaki on the North Island and was saved by spring weather which softened the ice and meant he landed in snow.
The police said the climber is “exceptionally lucky to be alive”.
The distance he fell equals the Makkah Clock Royal Tower in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s tallest buildings.
It is also nearly twice the height of the Shard in London which stretches 309m into the sky.
The climber was part of a group scaling Mount Taranaki when he fell from the summit about midday local time (midnight GMT) on Saturday 9 September.
“Having watched their fellow climber slide down the mountain and out of view, another member of the group climbed down to try and locate them,” said the police.
A member of the Taranaki Alpine Rescue also happened to be climbing that day and helped locate the fallen man.
