Police in southwestern Switzerland say a 24-year-old British mountain climber who was coming down from the country's famed Matterhorn fell to his death in pre-dawn darkness, after a chunk of rock came loose during the descent.

The Valais regional police say two other Britons who were also coming down from the Hoernli ridge were uninjured. It happened around 2:40 a.m. Monday at an altitude of around 3,380 meters (more than 11,000 feet).

The victim wasn't identified, and local prosecutors were investigating.

Valais police spokesman Steve Leger said he had no details about why the climbers had been scaling the peak at that hour. The local prosecutor's office didn't immediately reply to an email seeking comment.