Climber Falls To His Death When His Friend Severs Rope To Save His Own Life


A climber, Malcolm Hall, 51, fell 375 feet to his death after his friend, Joseph Faichney, 28, made the tormenting decision to cut the rope that was holding Hall in order to save his own life, according to Daily Mail.

As a treat for Faichney’s 28th birthday, Hall decided to take him to Kettleness cliff at Whitby since he hadn’t been since he was a boy scout. The pair decided to go in search of a black gemstone while climbing the cliff so that they could sell it to a jewelery maker or a collector.

Once they reached 375 feet, things quickly went awry when the rope Hall tied to the cliff – which held him and Faichney – began to loosen.

The rope eventually gave out, causing Hall to be dragged to the edge of the cliff, almost falling over but was caught just in time by his friend.

As Faichney desperately held on to the rope that was tied to Hall – who was dangling from the cliff – he frantically yelled for help. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold on to the rope much longer due to Hall’s weight and the rope that was tied to him was also loosening, Faichney figured he had no choice but to cut the rope if he wanted to survive. Otherwise, they both would have taken a fatal fall.

Faichney watched the climber fall to his death.

He was later arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, but was soon released when Crown Prosecution service uncovered that he was left with no other option but to cut the rope in order to save his own life.

While in Teesside Coroner’s Court, Faichney read a statement, which stated as follows.

“I was thinking that hopefully he will get near the bottom, hopefully he will get close. I was holding it as tight as I could but it was digging into my back.

“I was screaming and screaming and thinking that he was going to pull me off the top. I was in sheer panic.”

During the hearing on Wednesday, coroner Malcom Donnelly told the court that “He was in an impossible situation and had to save his own life. He was a novice and relied on the knowledge of the more experienced man.”

The investigator, Mark Proctor, who investigated the horrific incident, stated that the anchor points that Hall used to secure the ropes with weren’t safe, which is why they began to unravel.

“Technically it is theft when people take jet from these cliffs without the owner’s permission,” said Proctor.

“This highlights the danger involved in trying to excavate jet from a cliff side.

“Obviously we would appeal to people to use a little bit of common sense not to put themselves at risk in this type of activity.”

Although Hall’s family was left devastated after he took a fatal fall, they claimed that “he died doing something he loved.”

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