Woman falls to death while using phone map app
A hiker's fatal fall while descending a 915m-high mountain has been blamed on using a smartphone map app instead of an actual map.
University librarian Jane Wilson was killed as she and her husband Gary were looking for a safe route off Snowdonia's Tryfan peak in Wales at dusk on March 25.
Both experienced walkers, the Wilsons had decided not to go to climb the summit but instead, using Mr Wilson's smartphone to guide them, headed across the mountain's west face, reported the BBC.
In a statement to the coroner for north Wales east and central, Mr Wilson said his wife went a short distance ahead of him to look for a suitable route.
She ended up falling down a vertical cliff, fracturing her skull and sustaining other severe injuries, reported The Telegraph.
Speaking at the inquest, Detective Constable Tim Bird, the leader of the rescue team, said Mr Wilson had been using an Ordnance Survey app on his smartphone.
"The image would have been small and not as detailed as on a proper map. There is no easy way up Tryfan, but there are easier routes," he was reported as saying.
The commercial director of Ordnance Survey, Mr Andrew Loveless, has advised walkers to always carry a paper map while using the smartphone app.
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