According to local police, the man had pulled into a canyon with a climbing partner on Friday near the town of Linescio, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) northwest of the city of Locarno. During a rappel he ended up in a pool of water, in which he got stuck.
His climbing partner managed to free him and get him out of the canyon, where rescuers were still trying to resuscitate him. However, last night the police reported that the man had died in hospital. The Dutchman lived in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.
Canyoning is a sport in which you walk, swim, climb, slide, jump and make a trip through a gorge through which water usually flows.