A pre-wedding photo shoot at Wied iz-Zurrieq on Thursday evening took a tragic turn as the photographer fell off a cliff, and even though efforts were made to save him, he died in hospital during the night.

Mario Agius was due to celebrate his 58th birthday next week. He was born in Paola, but lived in Sliema and owned his own photo studio in Qormi. He was a father and a grandfather, and described as a very generous person.

Sources said he was taking pre-wedding photos of a couple on a cliff – despite being scared of heights – in the area close to the historic tower that is used as a police station.

Eyewitnesses said that as he moved backwards towards the edge of the cliff, he slipped and fell a height of about three storeys, plunging into the sea.

The fiancé jumped into the sea to help the photographer, and pulled him onto a pleasure boat that happened to be in the area.

As the photographer was brought ashore, an attempt to give him first aid was made before he was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital in an ambulance. Initially, he was in critical condition, but died in hospital during the night.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera opened an inquiry into the case and the police are investigating.