Geneva (AFP) — A South Korean climber fell to his death while descending from the summit of Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn mountain, police said Wednesday.

The mountaineer and another Alpinist were coming back down on the northeast face when the accident happened on Sunday, the Wallis regional police said in a statement.

“At an altitude of approximately 4,000 metres, one of them fell for reasons that remain unclear,” the police said.

The other climber alerted the emergency services, but a rescue team flown in by helicopter “could only confirm the mountaineer’s death”.

“The victim is a 58-year-old South Korean citizen,” said police.

Public prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death.

On the southern border with Italy, the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn is a cherished Swiss nat

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