Tourist falls 300 feet to death from dangerous 'ladder of heaven' in Europe mountains

The man's body was found in the gorge below sky ladder in Austria. (Representational image)

A 42-year-old British tourist died after falling 300 feet from an aerial ladder in the mountains in Austria last week, Mirror reported. Using the narrow ladder in the Dachstein mountains, a part of the Alps, is popular with Instagrammers.

The man’s body was found in a narrow area in the gorge below the 130-feet long ladder, often described as the “ladder of heaven”. There was no one else on the ladder when he was using it and that his fall was purely an accident, with no negligence from other parties, the police was quoted as saying in the report.

Soon after the tourist slipped, a rescue operation was launched. Two helicopter crews were among those involved in the efforts.

The sky ladder connects two parts a mountain and is promoted as a tourist attraction by the Dachstein authorities. On the Dachstein tourism website, the ladder is branded as “the new TOP attraction on the Zwieselalm” for climbing enthusiasts.

Using the ladder is one of the four stages of climb up the ridge in the mountain ranges, and is the most difficult.

In addition to the adrenaline rush, the ladder climb offers panoramic views of the mountain ranges, which is why it is so popular on social media.

Earlier this month, a 55-year-old Indian-origin man died while attempting to hike the Grand Canyon in Arizona, US, rim-to-rim, in a single day. The trail he undertook with a group is considered to be the most difficult out of the Grand Canyon’s major inner trails.