British tourist found dead on Argentina hiking trail in remote Patagonia

Aerospace engineer believed to have fallen

Mr Minn, a former pupil of the Jewish Free School in North London, was on a seven-month tour of South America (Facebook)

A young British aerospace engineer has been found dead on a hiking trail in Argentina.

The local civil defence said the body of David Minn was found on a mountainous hiking track near the city of Ushuaia which is close to the Esmeralda Lagoon.

A group of hikers raised alarm bells on Monday after the 24-year-old did not return to the hostel where he was staying in Ushuaia - the world’s southernmost city.

Reports suggest Mr Minn suffered catastrophic head injuries after falling more than 100 feet.

Defensa Civil Ushuaia said it is believed the former Sheffield University student, who graduated last year, may have fallen.

They said the area, which is close to the Martial mountain range in Tierra del Fuego province in the far south of the country, is popular with tourists.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who sadly died in Argentina, and we are in contact with the local authorities.”

His sister, Hayley, who is a journalist for the Daily Mirror, expressed her sadness at the news on Twitter.

The 26-year-old said: “We got the devastating news we didn’t want and it’s breaking my heart."

She added: “We’ve just found out it’s not good news. We don’t know anything else right now, I’m so numb.”

Mr Minn, a former pupil of the Jewish Free School in North London, was on a seven-month tour of South America. He has previously done work at Camp Tevya in New Hampshire in the US - a Jewish summer camp for children.

He has also worked as an aerospace engineering intern for Oxfordshire-based technology company Satellite Applications Catapault.

According to The Times, his family travelled to Argentina last month to celebrate his birthday.

Additional reporting by Press Association