Alex Trelinski
A ‘much-loved’ Malaga school teacher plunged to his death on Sunday after a day of rock-climbing in the Sierra Nevada.
Javier Arias Ortiogosa, 52, taught economics at the IES Vicente Espinel in Malaga.
The teacher- father to a 16-year-old girl- suffered a fatal fall of about 80 metres in the Tajos de La Virgen, a difficult to access area in the Dillar municipality in Granada province.
He had spent the morning climbing rocks with a friend and they had already turned back when tragedy struck.
They stopped at around 3.30pm to rest and have a bite to eat when for reasons that are still unknown, Javi fell through an area of icy snow that was difficult to access.
His companion, who was understandably in shock, called the emergency services and immediately the coordination centre reported the incident to the Guardia Civil.
The Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group (GREIM) and the 061 health services were mobilised, but on arrival they could only confirm Javi’s death and proceeded with the removal of his body
Eight mountain specialists from Granada’s Granada participated in the intervention and, for the evacuation, snow ploughing equipment was brought in from the Sierra Nevada ski resort.
His death has devastated the entire Malaga school where he had been teaching since 2010.
“He was a much-loved teacher, friend and colleague,” said members of the management team.
“If there was one thing that stood out, it was his positive and cheerful spirit.”
Social media was also filled with messages from his students, who expressed their shock on the news.
They highlighted that Javi was a teacher who was close to the students and had left an indelible mark on them.
“We will always remember you,” they wrote in tribute.
