A British rocket scientist has been found dead after plunging 100 feet after suffering a “strong blow to the head” while hiking to a glacier in Argentina.
The body of Sheffield University graduate David Minn, 24, from London, was found yesterday near a rocky path close to the Ojo de Albino glacier in Tierra del Fuego.
A group of hikers raised the alarm around 5 p.m. local time after David failed to return to the Hostal Aoniken hostel in Ushuaia, the country’s most southern city, on Monday.
The engineering graduate is thought to have suffered a fall while hiking alone.
Police chief Alejandra Giordano told local media: “An autopsy is taking place to discover what happened. Apparently he suffered a fall in an area where there are a lot of rocks.
“The people who helped recover the body say he plunged more than 100ft and suffered a strong blow to his head.”
The police chief also confirmed David’s next-of-kin had been informed and it was thought they would travel to Argentina to organize the repatriation of his body after the post-mortem.
David was identified by a passport he had on him when he was found.
A police source said: “He was found face down after impacting against a sharp rock.”
He had checked into the hostel he was staying at in Ushuaia for just one night and had been due to leave on Tuesday morning for Punta Arenas in Chile.
A local search had been organised by police before his body was found when the alarm was raised by the hostel owner and authorities discovered there was no record of him crossing the border into Chile.
The glacier near the spot where David’s body is found is one of the area’s most beautiful and lies around 15 miles north-west of Ushuaia. It feeds a lagoon called the Laguna Esmeralda.
Travelers to the area can take in both landmarks during a day trekking tour.