A cyclist was killed by lightning while biking around the world to combat climate change.
Florian Berg had spent over a year peddling across the globe.
The latest stretch of his journey took him to South America.
But the German climate activist died while cycling through the mountains of Peru.
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The 29-year-old was caught in a torrential storm in the Andes on Saturday (17 Jan) evening.
Earlier that day, he’d set off from Huaraz City to reach the Pastoruri Glacier in the mountain range.
Florian sought shelter in his tent, before being zapped by lightning.
In his final moments, he had apparently called for help.
He’d contacted the German Embassy in Peru to report that he was trapped in a remote region in the severe storm.
When the embassy was unable to detect a signal from his GPS device on Sunday, they raised the alarm.
Rescuers asked for assistance from local shepherds who saw Florian hours before contact was lost.
The authorities said their information was crucial to identifying the exact search zone.
The team found Florian lifeless in his tent in a field next to his cycling equipment, as reported by Need To Know.
He had apparently been killed by a lightning strike.
The victim’s body was taken to the Huaraz Institute of Forensic Medicine to establish his exact cause of death.
Following his passing, the Peruvian authorities issued a warning about hiking and cycling in high altitudes during the rainy season.
“If there is thunder or lightning, do not stay in tents in open fields, stay away from peaks, and keep your distance from metal objects,” they stated.
Two days before his passing, Florian wrote on his Instagram page: “One year of cycling around the world.
“And somehow it feels like both a lifetime and a single breath.
“Time moves differently when you live day by day, when progress is measured in small efforts, headwinds, doubts, and the decision to keep going anyway.
“There were moments when a year felt impossibly long – and now it’s gone in the blink of an eye.
“Moving slowly also made one thing impossible to ignore: the world is changing fast. Heat, drought, fragile ecosystems, resilient people.
“From the saddle, the climate crisis isn’t abstract – it’s visible, personal, and urgent.
“This year didn’t give me answers, but it gave me clarity. About time. About resilience.
“And about responsibility – for how we live, move, and protect the only home we have.”
He originally set off with his tent and stove to “explore our planet in a minimalist way” and “capture impressions with my camera aimed at drawing attention to the existential danger of climate change”.
The investigation into his death is ongoing.
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