Brit climber suffers multiple injuries after plunging more than 30ft from cliff edge in Spain

A BRITISH climber has been airlifted to hospital after plunging more than 30ft from a cliff edge in Spain.

The 80-year-old man is said to have suffered multiple injuries - including head injuries - after falling near the Costa Blanca town of Moraira.

An air ambulance flew him to Alicante’s Doctor Balmis Hospital after he was stabilised at the scene.

The alarm was raised just before 2pm on Sunday in the small village of Murla - a 30 minute drive inland from Moraira.

Firefighters, paramedics and the air ambulance were called in to help with the emergency response.

Pictures showed rescuers surrounding the injured pensioner on the side of a cliff.

It was not immediately clear if the injured man had been with anyone else at the time.

And it's not known what his current condition is.

A spokesman for firefighters in Alicante said: “Our rescue team has assisted in the rescue of an 80-year-old British climber in Murla.

“He suffered multiple injuries following a 32ft fall.

“He was taken to a fire station in Denia where an ambulance was waiting to take him to hospital."

It comes after a British climber plunged more than 300ft to his death in the Austrian mountains.

Malcolm McDonald, 42, was found dead after falling from the famous "stairway to heaven" ladder in the Dachstein Mountains in September.

The retail manager had travelled to the range near Salzburg to tackle the Via ferrata Donnerkogel hike.

The Via ferrata - meaning "iron way" - features an enormous metal ladder strung up between two mountain peaks.

Made up of a dizzyingly long 130ft stretch of rungs, the ladder sits at nearly 300ft above the ground.

Malcolm, from Northern Ireland, was climbing it alone when disaster struck on September 12.

Emergency services rushed to the scene - including two helicopter crews - but were unable to save him.

His body was recovered from the deep gully underneath the ladder after the horror fall.

Malcom's heartbroken family described him as "kind and caring" in an emotional tribute.