Climber Falls to Death From Iconic Bridge While Filming Social Media Content

A 26-year-old British man has died after falling from a famous bridge in central Spain during an attempt to make climbing-related social media content, according to local authorities.

The man was ascending the Castilla-La Mancha Bridge in Talavera de la Reina, a small city about 75 miles from Madrid, when he fell to his death on Sunday morning at 7:14 a.m., according to an El Mundo report. The victim, yet to be identified, was said to be accompanied by a 24-year-old man who survived the incident.

Scaling the iconic span, Spain's highest cable-stayed bridge, is illegal—though it has drawn climbers, various other social media-driven daredevils, and even illegal racing activity since its construction.

“This is something that is totally prohibited and that we have reiterated on many occasions cannot be done under any circumstances,” noted the city’s Councilor for Citizen Security, Macarena Muñoz, in a town hall press release about the climbing attempt turned tragedy

The statement noted that the two men had arrived specifically to climb the bridge “to create content for social networks”—leading to an “unfortunate and sad outcome.”

According to Metro.co.uk, a local police spokesperson said the climber was “about 40 to 50 meters up, around a quarter of the total height of the bridge, when he fell.” The exact cause of the fall has yet to be determined. According to another source in the same report, neither of the two men were wearing protective harnesses.

The press release confirmed that a judge and coroner transported the body to a local funeral home. “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain, and are in contact with the local authorities,” a U.K. Foreign Office spokesperson told a subsequent report from People.

Dubbed “the bridge to nowhere" by detractors, the Castilla-La Mancha Bridge is a dramatic Golden Gate-style span, with its pair of iconic leaning towers rising to 630 feet, and over 20 miles of wiring built into its 1,043-foot length across the Tagus River. 

Drawing limited traffic and costing nearly €74 million to build, the bridge was widely panned in the media as a waste of money when it was completed on October 17, 2011. Since then, it has drawn its share of visitors engaged in activities it was never designed for.