Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been forced to abandon an attempt to climb the highest peak in South America after being struck down with a bad back.
The 72-year-old was airlifted from Aconcagua in the Andes on Monday when he was overcome with severe back pain, just a few hours from the summit.
Sir Ranulph was scaling the 6,691m (22,838ft) mountain as part of his attempt to become the first person to cross both the polar ice caps and climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, a challenge that is raising money for the terminal illness charity Marie Curie.
Speaking from Mendoza in Argentina, Sir Ranulph said: "I was within just a few hours of the summit but problems with my back meant I couldn't continue.
"I'm very frustrated but I've learnt that at my age you can't ignore any pain. I'm going to come home to the UK and get my back looked at before I do anything else."
Sir Ranulph alluded to the physical difficulties his challenge entailed before he set off, saying at the time: "Another obstacle I will face is that things aren't as they were in the past - the body, with the same amount of training, can't achieve the same things, so success in this challenge is by no means guaranteed."
Sir Ranulph is more than half way to completing the Global Reach Challenge for Marie Curie.
Despite having a heart attack and undergoing bypass surgery in 2003, he has since climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Mount Vinson in Antarctica.
He also reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2009, reaching the top of the world's highest mountain at his third attempt and becoming the oldest Briton to achieve the feat.
To complete the world first, he still needs to reach the top of Aconcagua, Mount Carstensz in Indonesia, and Denali, the highest peak in North America.
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