A 28-year-old British climber has died after falling about 60m (200ft) from one of the highest mountains in northern Spain.

The man fell into a gully while descending from the summit of Torrecerredo in the Cantabrian Mountains on Thursday, the Spanish Civil Guard said.

Police and an air unit were deployed to the scene after emergency services were called around 13:27 local time (11:27 GMT). The man’s body was recovered by a mountain rescue unit.

The UK Foreign Office said it was in contact with local authorities “following reports of the death of a British national in Spain”.

Spanish emergency services said they initially received a call saying that a person had fallen on the eastern face of the mountain and dispatched a rescue group aboard a medical helicopter.

A doctor among them confirmed the man’s death at about 14:18 and remained at the scene to guard the body until a Civil Guard helicopter could arrive about an hour and 20 minutes later.

Specialist mountain rescuers were then lowered by winch to the site of the accident, where they recovered the man’s body and belongings.

The identity of the climber, who Spanish authorities said was English, has not been given. The accident occurred when he was about 20 metres from the mountain’s summit.

His body has been transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine, which provides forensic pathology services, in Asturias, the Civil Guard said.

Torrecerredo, which has an elevation of about 2,650m, is in the Picos de Europa, which is popular with climbers and walkers.

The region’s tourism board describes the route up the mountain as “very difficult” with a demanding ascent, warning climbers to take particular care on steep and exposed upper sections on their way down.

Sepa Asturias – the body responsible for emergency services in the region – said it also transported a 54-year-old French woman to hospital after she suffered a leg injury on the mountain range on Thursday afternoon.