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British climber killed in Yosemite accident

A British man has died in a rock climbing accident on in the Yosemite National Park in the US.

Felix Joseph Kiernan, 28, from London, was struck by a rock dislodged by his climbing partner, the BBC reported.

He was about 600ft up a route on the east buttress of El Capitan, a popular climbing route in the California park, when he was hit by the rock.

Park Rangers reached him about two hours later and pronounced him dead.

A national park spokesman said the victim’s climbing partner, who is also from England, was climbing above him at about 2pm local time on Sunday when he stepped on the loose rock, which was dislodged and hit him.

The loose block, estimated to be 1ft by 2ft, fell about 150ft before striking Kiernan and causing fatal injuries.

A second group climbing just below Kiernan immediately called the Yosemite Emergency Communication Centre on a mobile phone to report the incident.

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