French climber, Luce Douady,16, dies after falling off cliff (photos)

French climber, Luce Douady has died at the age of 16 after falling 500ft to her death on Sunday, the French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (FFME) has said.

The 16-year-old had been climbing a cliff in Isère with friends and was heading to an unexplored sector of a cliff near Grenoble when she slipped and fell from the approach path, French media report.

Mountain police in Haute Savoie confirmed the news of Douady’s death, telling Euronews that she had fallen 500 feet (150 metres) and that an investigation had been opened.

Initial investigations have found that Douady had likely not secured her cable properly to the handrail in the challenging pass, despite being familiar with the cliff, police said. They also noted that this type of accident is rare in the area.

Douady was a rising star in the French climbing team and was described as “very promising” in a statement from the FFME on Monday.’

“Luce was a very promising young athlete on the French climbing team,” the French climbing federation said in a statement.

“At only 16, she had her whole future before her. This terrible news hit her training comrades, coaches and club, Chambéry Escalade hard. And today, the whole federation is in mourning.”

The 2024 Paris Olympics committee tweeted: “Luce Douady was a promising talent of French climbing, a true champion who had so many summits to climb. Immense sadness and thoughts for her loved ones.”

Her climbing club, Chambéry Escalade, described her as a young woman full of energy, passion and talent.

Douady began climbing at a young age with her father in the Chartreuse Massif near her home.

She won her first Youth World Championships bouldering title in 2019 in Italy, and also finished fifth in her first appearance at the International Federation of Sport Climbing Boulder World Cup circuit last year in Vail, Colo.