THE body of a British man who made a desperate emergency call after becoming lost in the picturesque Picos de Europa mountain range has been found by rescuers.

The mountaineer, 61, told emergency services in Castilla y Leon at around 7pm on Thursday evening that he was ‘lost and exhausted’ after a day hiking.

The tired Brit said he could not pinpoint his exact location after a band of poor weather sweeping in dramatically reduced visibility.

A rescue helicopter was mobilised on Thursday, carrying out several reconnaissance flights over the area of land where staff suspected the Brit may have been.

A search operation was also launched on foot.

He was eventually found dead on Friday by rescuers in the Moeño channel, according to emergency services in the northern Spanish region.

The Guardia Civil will launch an operation to extract his body.

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