French climbing champion Luce Douady died after falling from an Alpine cliff. The 16-year-old was walking on an exposed path to a climbing spot with friends near Grenoble when she slipped and fell 500 feet down. Douady was a rising star in the French climbing team and seen as a potential candidate for Olympics. She was to feature in the Games for the first time in Tokyo. Douady was described as "very promising" in a statement from the French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (FFME) on Monday. The club said she was a 'beautiful person' and a 'young woman full of energy, passion, talents'. Nepalese Climber Nirmal Purja Sets New Record in Mountaineering by Scaling World’s 14 Highest Peaks in 190 Days.

FFME said, "This terrible news has had a huge impact on her training partners, her coaches and her club, Chambéry Escalade. But today, the whole federation is in mourning. The IFSC's thoughts and prayers are with Luce's family and friends at this tragic time." Last year, Douady won the Youth World Championships title in bouldering in Arco, Italy, and also finished fifth in her debut appearance at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Boulder World Cup circuit in Vail, United States.

Watch Luce Douady's Climb:

Douady had already won a bronze medal in a European senior event other than a junior world championship title. French media reported that Douady was walking on an exposed path near Crolles and Saint-Pancrasse when she slipped and fell. Police said that according to initial investigations, they have found that Douady had likely not secured her cable to the handrail properly while going through the pass despite being familiar with it. They also noted that this type of accidents is rare in the area.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2020 09:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).