British 'influencer' dies after falling off bridge in Spain while 'creating social media content'

Castilla la Mancha Bridge in Talavera de la Reina (Google Maps)
Castilla la Mancha Bridge in Talavera de la Reina (Google Maps)

A British man has died after falling off a bridge in central Spain while trying to create content for social media, according to local authorities.

The 26-year-old, who has not been named, tried to scale the 630ft (192m) high Castilla-La Mancha Bridge in Talavera de la Reina when he plunged to his death, a statement from a local councillor said.

The tragedy happened around 7.15am on Sunday, Spanish news outlet El Mundo reported.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, but were unable to save the man.

Macarena Munoz, the city’s councillor for citizen security, said he had been joined on the climb by a 24-year-old Briton, who has also not been named, and that the pair had visited the bridge to create social media content.

“We have been able to find out, they had come to Talavera to climb the bridge and create content for social networks, which has resulted in this unfortunate and sad outcome,” said Ms Munoz in a statement.

Castilla la Mancha Bridge (Google Maps)
Castilla la Mancha Bridge (Google Maps)

She added attempting to climb the bridge “is totally prohibited and which we have reiterated on many occasions cannot be done under any circumstances”.

The man’s body has been taken to a funeral home by a coroner.

The Castilla-La Mancha bridge stands above the Tagus River, around 120km (75 miles) south west of Madrid, and was opened in 2011. At the time, it was known to be the tallest cable-stayed bridge in Spain.

The structure features 152 wire ropes which are attached to the main concrete towers creating a fan-like shape.

There have reportedly been other previous instances involving people scaling the structure.

Following the British man’s death on Saturday, the local council is looking at making access to the bridge more difficult and at installing CCTV cameras to boost security, news outlet Ahora reported.

A spokesperson from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”