Climber seriously injured by falling rock in Snowdonia

A climber was seriously injured when a giant rock fell on him in Snowdonia, Wales.

The man in his mid-40s, from the south of England, was preparing to lead a climb at Pen yr Ole Wen in the Ogwen Valley when the rock gave way.

According to ITV News the rock crushed his leg and the man was airlifted to hospital where he is undergoing surgery.

WalesOnline reports that the man lost his leg below the knee and surgeons at the Stoke-on-Trent hospital are working to re-attach it.

Speaking to WalesOnline, Chris Lloyd, chairman of the Ogwen Valley Mountain rescue organisation, said: "The two guys started a rock climb which is seen as a fairly easy climb, but one that isn't done as often as it used to be. The lead climber got 10ft up when the block he was standing on came away.

"It was a substantially sized block. The climber fell back 10ft and the block fell on to him, which has left him with this life changing injury."

He added: "The block then fell another 150ft onto the A5 road, but thankfully no cars were driving along at that time. The road was completely blocked for a while."

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