Briton Falls to His Death After Dozing Off Atop Pyramid
A British tourist fell to his death after he illegally climbed the Great Pyramid, then dozed off, authorities said today.
Peter Harold Flanagan apparently climbed the 482-foot pyramid Saturday night, a British Embassy spokesman said. His body was found Sunday beside the monument, the largest of the three Giza pyramids.
An officer at Giza police station said Flanagan apparently was alone on his climb and that foul play was not suspected. He did not explain how authorities knew Flanagan, 21, fell asleep before toppling to his death.
Pyramid climbing has been done for centuries. Records show more than 1,600 climbers have died in the last 200 years. The last reported death was in 1980 when Susanne Urban, a 21-year-old American, was killed in a fall.
Pyramid climbing was banned in 1951 but enforcement has been lax.
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