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NSW Police retrieve abseiler's body

An abseiler has fallen to his death trying to save his girlfriend, who has been lifted to safety in the Blue Mountains.

General view of the Blue Mountains
An abseiler has fallen to his death and a woman has been lifted to safety in the Blue Mountains. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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A man who fell to his death from a Blue Mountains cliff was reportedly trying to save his girlfriend after she became tangled in ropes.

The man in his 30s was abseiling with a woman in her 20s at Malaita Point, a popular abseiling spot on the edge of the Jamison Valley, near Katoomba, on Saturday morning.

Emergency services were called around 8.30am (AEDT) after the woman became tangled in ropes mid-way down a cliff.

Police say the man then plummeted down the cliff and the woman raised the alarm.

"It just so happened that at the time there were some tourists walking past and (they) came down to this lookout to admire the view, and they heard the female calling for help," Inspector Ken Schack-Evans told reporters at the scene.

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An operation to retrieve the man's body was completed on Saturday evening.

The woman was winched to safety at about 1.30pm and wasn't injured, NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Murray Traynor said.

A rope system was used to haul her to the top of the cliff in a rescue operation involving ambulance and police helicopters.

Police will investigate the incident and a report will be prepared for the coroner.


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