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Blackheath fall 1-May-2013 At 6:23:33 AM M.

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Well, here is the whole story, from my perspective, as far as I was able to reproduce and get all the bits and pieces together:
To start with, we have been climbing together for 13 years and this was our first accident. We are normally quite good in communicating via sign language and knowing and interpreting what the other one is doing. It was windy on top and there were many people at the bottom which makes verbal communication sometimes tricky so we didn't try to talk but used sign language.
Fact is that somehow we misunderstood each other.
I can’t explain exactly what happened, because there were all these small little things that must have gone wrong. My partner grabbed a carabiner on the harness (instead of just quickdraws as before) which I interpreted as using his sling to secure himself. His posture looked like sitting in the harness secured to the anchor (at least what I remember now), and he gave me an ‘ok’ with a free hand (the same way that I confirmed before that I was safe).
It all doesn’t make sense now, because he always went up a route first and I cleaned it afterwards and I should have had second thoughts.
Fact is, I was absolutely convinced that he was safe and tied to the anchor point, so I gave out some rope. He was convinced that I had taken in the rope and I belay him to the bottom (probably because of friction and/or rope weight).
Due to the slack rope and I being prepared for giving out rope, but not at all for stopping a fall, it took me a while to realize what’s going on (at least it feels now that it took me forever). I was able to stop the fall on time before he reached the ground, but he hit the rock on the way down.
I only realized that he had not been tied to the anchor when I checked his harness and found the sling that he uses for securing himself and the corresponding carabiner still clipped to the harness.
This is how I experienced it - I write this here not in self-defence but as an attempt to process what actually happened. We probably got so used to each other and work so automatically, that somehow we forgot to discuss our way of communication recently.

I want to thank here all the people who were present and everyone who helped getting him from the rope to the hospital. The rescue chain and the surrounding support were very impressive.
M.

Ps: together with our climbing equipment, I received a black jacket that is not ours. If anyone of the people who where there is missing it please let me know.