Briton who died in Canada mountain fall named as Neil Charles Mackenzie
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Version 0 of 1. A Briton who was among three climbers who died in a mountain fall in a remote area of western Canada has been named as Neil Charles Mackenzie, who was originally from Scotland. His body, and that of a Canadian and German climber, were found in a crevasse below Joffre Peak in British Columbia on Monday after falling in the Pemberton area, which is north of the resort town of Whistler and popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts. The Coroners Service in British Columbia identified them as Elena Cernicka, 35, of North Vancouver, Stephanie Grothe, a 30-year-old German, and Mackenzie, who was 31. All three were part of a group who travelled to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park on Saturday. While the rest of the group engaged in other activities, they went ice-climbing on the following day but sparked a search when they did not return as planned. The body of one was located while search and rescue service staff found the other two on Monday after they had apparently fallen more than 600 metres down a narrow gulley. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities believed that the climbers initially reached the area on skis and had planned to climb higher, using crampons. Grothe was a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia while Mackenzie had recently arrived from Scotland and was living in Vancouver, according to local media. |