A rock climber has died after falling from a mountain in western Victoria.

The 24-year-old NSW woman was injured at Mount Arapiles on Monday morning, requiring a helicopter for paramedics to winch her off the rock face.

She was flown to hospital in Melbourne with critical upper body injuries and died overnight.

Horsham Police Acting Senior Sergeant Dave McIvor told media on Tuesday morning the woman died overnight.

“It’s unfortunate, these incidents on the rock happen from time to time, but it’s just sad when they do,” he told reporters.

Sergeant McIvor would not provide more details, as the death would be investigated by the coroner.

The woman had been scaling the Organ Pipes face. Picture: Jason Edwards
The woman was climbing on a section of Mount Arapiles known as Organ Pipes.

She was climbing with a group and fell about 11.30am. Police, paramedics and the SES were called to help with a precarious rescue that required a winch.

Carried to a nearby paddock, intensive care paramedics treated her for more than an hour, an ambulance service spokesperson said.

Mount Arapiles is near the city of Horsham, 270km northwest of Melbourne.

Mount Arapiles is described on climbing forums as a “trad climbing’ area, where hooks and grips are placed into the rock face for people to climb up with.

The Organ Pipes rock face specifically is close to the camp site used by many climbers heading to the mountain, and its tallest defined route is about 37m above ground level.