Briton dies in Bolivia road crash

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A British cyclist has been killed in a road crash in Bolivia, which claimed nine lives in total.

Tom Austin, 22, was riding with two other Britons along a steep Andean pass when he collided with a vehicle.

According to local reports, the Toyota Land Cruiser came off the road and rolled 300ft down a rocky embankment, killing eight people and injuring five.

Fellow UK cyclists Daniel Roberts, 23, and James Marshall, 22, were injured, the British Embassy in La Paz said.

Cycling tour

Louise Taylor, vice consul of the embassy, said Mr Austin died on the road between the capital city, La Paz, and Coroico.

She said she did not believe the cyclists were taking part in a race.

Lt Col Agusto Angulo, head of the La Paz transit police accident division, told AP news agency the accident happened just minutes after the cyclists began their tour on a paved section near a 15,400 ft Andean pass.

The stretch of mountain road winds down the face of the Andes, dropping 11,800 ft in just 40 miles.

The Foreign Office said a British man was killed in a road accident in Bolivia and his next of kin had been informed. The spokesman also confirmed two other British men were injured.