Irish woman, 21, dies in hiking accident in Malaga

A 21-year-old Irish woman tragically lost her life after falling approximately 150 meters in a renowned rock-climbing area near Málaga in southern Spain. The victim has been identified as 21-year-old student Eve McCarthy, from Shankill in Dublin. The accident occurred yesterday evening near the village of El Chorro, close to the famous Caminito del Rey pathway. Emergency services were alerted shortly after 7 p.m., and rescue teams recovered the woman’s body from the rugged terrain. Her male climbing companion survived the fall by grabbing onto a protruding rock. Authorities reported that he was found in a state of shock but otherwise uninjured. The incident happened in the Swiss Sector, a climbing area adjacent to a popular hiking route known as the Arabic Staircase. According to police, the survivor told investigators that the pair lost their balance while navigating the terrain, leading to the fatal plunge. A spokesperson for the Málaga Civil Guard confirmed: “I can confirm the woman who died was an Irish 21-year”. She was on a rock-climbing holiday in Spain. The nationality of her climbing companion has not yet been disclosed. This marks the second fatal climbing accident in the El Chorro area in less than a month. In December, a British climber died after falling from the Monkey Bridge, a 30-meter-long hanging structure in the same region. Authorities are urging visitors to exercise extreme caution when exploring the challenging terrain of El Chorro, which has become a popular destination for climbers and outdoor enthusiasts.