Hiker who fell off cliff saved by call from boss because he was late for work

07 October 2023 , 12:38

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An unnamed hiker was awoken from their spot on a mountain by their boss (file) (Image: Getty Images/Photononstop RF)

A hiker who found had fallen off a cliff was saved by a call from his boss asking why he was late for work.

The unnamed Belgian hiker, 22, fell roughly 40 metres in the French Pyrenees and was left unconscious after the fall. But a call from his boss wondering where his employee currently was woke him up and eventually led to his rescue. His climb near Campan in the south-west of France led to a frightful experience while scaling the mountain range near Occitanie. He lay unconscious overnight and awoke the next day to find himself at the bottom of a cliff with an irate boss on the other end of his phone.

Thankfully the 8am call to the 22-year-old sparked a rescue mission as he told his boss he had fallen off of a cliff, with the noise of the phone waking him from his state of unconsciousness.

According to local newspaper La Dépêche, his employer "realised the seriousness of the situation" and soon "told him to ring emergency services with his mobile phone, knowing that we could very probably locate him that way," a mountain rescue service representation said.

He added if it wasn't for the call the man could have died. Following the call from his boss, emergency services were able to get in touch with the missing hiker, who "was able to tell us his first and last name, but we were forced to geolocate him in order to know where he was exactly."

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The hiker was found in a state of hypothermia and with multiple fractures. A mountain rescuer added: "If his employer hadn’t called, the outcome would have in all likelihood been fatal for the victim."

Ewan Gleadow