UKC

The BBC is reporting a climbing fatality at the Quay Climbing Centre climbing wall in Exeter on Friday May 25:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-44278458

Climbing wall statement read out here: https://t.co/LmPB3EG4A6

Details are sparse but confirm it occurred on the roped climbing wall and the climber, described as experienced, hit his head on the floor when he fell. It is not known whether he was soling, using an auto-belay, or lead-climbing and the protection was not clipped or failed or the belayer was unable to hold the fall.

Such details could be useful to know to help prevent similar tragic accidents.

Not sure if the Climbing Wall in question should legally or morally say anything until the incident is investigated by the relevant bodies.

There will be an inquest. The findings of this will be public. At this time any speculation is just that. A number of people have likely lost a loved one. We should give them time to grieve. We, as the climbing community, must also remember that this forum is public and that whatever we write is able to be read by family members, friends, climbing partners and also the press. 

James

Give it time, it's only 3 days since a fatal accident.

I'm sure it will be thoroughly investigated.

As a friend of the gent concerned and a member of his club I'll say thank you for stamping on this thread quickly. 

Not the time or place.

This is Kilnsey revisited. Some will agree with you; some won't.

It's nothing like Kilnsey.

I disagree.

Some people think that Eroica's post is untimely and some won't see a problem with it.

During the Kilnsey discussion, Pursued by a Bear suggested that the best thing to do was to start another thread on a related issue.

Good luck  with that one.

It's a viewpoint to which I still adhere.

However, the comment made by NaCl earlier suggests that discussion here should be limited; and quite right too.

T.

That's why I tried to move it elsewhere on a topic which may or may not have been related but which forms a valid topic of discussion completely regardless of and independent of the sad events in Exeter.

If someone was present, they could relate what they witnessed - this would not be speculation but could contribute to the whole picture

*If* such details could be dispassionately and accurately disseminated on here, without a hint of judgement, speculation, ill-informed or tactless comment, which as any fule kno is not something UKC can do, it would quite probably still not be worth the upset it might cause.  (Let alone the media and social-media nonsense it might add fuel to.)

The fact of the matter is that we already know how to prevent awful accidents like the one you describe in almost every case, which is why they are mercifully so extremely rare.  Best thing we can do here just at the moment is acknowledge that we simply don't need to know the details of this case, not yet anyway, and wind our collective necks in a bit while people are grieving.

Condolences. 

Will they? I don't think any detailed report of such events is made public, certainly not in a readily accessible way. I don't recall reading anything detailed and official about the cause of various fatal accidents I've heard about locally the last few years. Of course I would be pleased to be corrected by you pointing me to an online resource where that information is viewable.

In reply to NaCl:

I know nothing about this individual case - my input is general.

What you say would be of relevance in the case of direct participant negligence. Suppose however that someone with a commercial interest wanted to cover-up, is it conceivable that a  testimony would be welcome ?

NB. Such would be worthless unless the bearer was willing to stand up in court with it.