Madrid – A 26-year-old Briton has died after he fell from the tallest bridge in Spain when he climbed it to make content for social media, authorities said on Monday. The unidentified man was with another Briton, aged 24, when he plunged to his death on Sunday morning from the cable-stayed bridge in Talavera de la Reina, 70 miles southwest of Madrid, the city council said.
“As far as we have been able to learn, they had come to Talavera to climb the bridge and create content for social networks, which has resulted in this disastrous and sad outcome,” Talavera city councilor for public security Macarena Munoz said.
Spanish media said it had rained heavily in Talavera before the accident, which may have caused the bridge to be slippery.
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With its 152 wire ropes and sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, the bridge has long drawn daredevils and social media creators, who climb it despite the act being banned.
“We have reiterated on many occasions that it cannot be done under any circumstances,” said Munoz.
At nearly 630 feet, the Castilla-La Mancha Bridge is the tallest in Spain and one of the tallest in Europe.
Online content creators and social media influencers regularly take personal safety risks and break laws to get photos and videos they believe will garner them new followers.
In July, Indian content creator and travel vlogger Aanvi Kamdar died when she slipped and fell into a 300-foot gorge at a beauty spot south of Mumbai while she was shooting Instagram videos.
In May 2023, police in California said a 17-year-old boy fell to his death from a bridge in Los Angeles that he was scaling in an apparent social media stunt.
