A solider fell to his death in a climbing accident in the Swiss Alps when a rock holding his abseiling rope toppled over as he descended a mountain, an inquest has heard.
Lance Corporal Hayden Prince, 24 from Cambridge, was on a private trip with two mountaineering friends while on annual leave from the British Army.
The group set out from the Hornli hut at the base camp of the Matterhorn at 6am on June 2 last year.
They had a planned to turn around and descend by 2pm regardless of whether they had reached the summit.
Lance Corporal Hayden Prince, 24 from Cambridge, and two friends set out from the Hornli hut at the base camp of the Matterhorn at 6am on June 2 last year
They stuck to this self-imposed target and turned around before 2pm without reaching the summit, assistant Cambridgeshire coroner Nicholas Moss told a hearing in Huntingdon that was held via Skype.
Descending safely with three people was ‘more time-consuming’ and the group were still descending after darkness fell, Mr Moss said.
He said they were well-equipped and had head torches.
L/Cpl Prince’s friends Luke Nibbs and Michael Slade were on the mountain with him. In a joint statement, they said that a rock came loose as L/Cpl Prince abseiled down a gully.
They had put a sling around the rock, around the size of a double fridge freezer, and tested it before L/Cpl Prince began his descent.
Mr Nibbs said: ‘As soon as I heard the noise, I looked up and saw the entire rock come off the mountain edge.
‘It turned and fell at a 45-degree angle.’
Mr Slade said L/Cpl Prince looked ‘controlled’ as he began his descent before the rock fell.
He said they called mountain rescue as soon as L/Cpl Prince fell at around 2.40am on June 3 last year, and could only shout after L/Cpl Prince as their abseiling rope fell with him.
Mr Nibbs and Mr Slade were winched from the mountain by helicopter.
L/Cpl Prince died at the scene on June 3 and his body was recovered.
L/Cpl Prince served with the First Fusiliers (pictured) and was a junior non-commissioned officer at Bulford Barracks near Salisbury, Wiltshire
His cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to the chest and right lower limb, with fall from height also stated.
Mr Moss said: ‘Sadly and tragically, as Hayden attempted to abseil down, suddenly and without warning the large rock to which the abseil rope was attached by slings gave way.
‘The rock started to fall down the mountain and sadly Hayden fell down too.
‘Tragically, this fall was Hayden falling to his death.
‘I find it wasn’t a survivable fall.
‘There was absolutely nothing Mr Nibbs or Mr Slade could do to prevent it at that stage.
‘Matters clearly happened very quickly.’
He concluded that L/Cpl Prince’s death was accidental.
A report from the Swiss authorities found the group had climbed 3,850 feet before turning back and L/Cpl Prince was in the area of the Hornli Ridge of the Matterhorn near Zermatt when he fell.
First Fusiliers held a memorial service for him before they went on deployment. L/Cpl Prince had just transferred and was about to go on deployment to Canada
L/Cpl Prince served with the First Fusiliers and was a junior non-commissioned officer at Bulford Barracks near Salisbury, Wiltshire.
He had joined the British Army in 2014.
He had also been with the 3 Medical Regiment in Preston, Lancashire, as part of the Royal Army Medical Corps.
3 Medical Regiment paid tribute to L/Cpl Prince after his death and said he was a ‘truly professional and popular solider’, Cambridgeshire Live reported.
First Fusiliers said: ‘A dedicated medic, with a lust for life and helping others, he will be sorely missed as a member of the Fusilier Family’
They added: ‘He served with honour, courage and with a smile on his face.’
First Fusiliers held a memorial service for him before they went on deployment. L/Cpl Prince had just transferred and was about to go on deployment to Canada.
Hundreds of his fellow soldiers stood in the courtyard to pay tribute to their colleague.
First Fusiliers said: ‘A dedicated medic, with a lust for life and helping others, he will be sorely missed as a member of the Fusilier Family.’