“The bear dragged her from the path and threw her 120 meters into the valley,” Romanian officials said.
A 19-year-old woman named Maria Diana tragically lost her life after being attacked by a bear while hiking in Romania. The horrific incident took place on the Jepii Mici trail in the Bucegi Mountains on Tuesday, July 9, as reported by the Daily Mail. Maria was hiking with her boyfriend when the bear caught them off guard.
Both Maria and her boyfriend desperately tried to reach local emergency services during the attack. Her boyfriend made the first call, telling Salvamont Prahova, the local search and rescue organization, that they were being pursued by a bear and provided their location.
Maria also attempted to call for help; however, her call was abruptly cut off due to the bear’s attack. Dan Banu, head of Salvamont Prahova, shared, “She was terrified… you can tell, she was screaming: ‘The bear is getting closer and closer!’”
“Everything happened live,” explained Banu. “The 112 [emergency line] dispatcher was on the phone while the young man was shouting that they were being attacked by a bear and that it had taken the girl. It was something terrible! He told us that the bear grabbed the girl by one leg and was dragging her. At some point, he lost sight of her. The bear dragged her from the path and tossed her 120 meters into the valley.” Tragically, Maria succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
When the rescuers from Salvamont Prahova arrived, they faced difficulty retrieving Maria’s body due to the bear’s proximity. “We were informed that a tourist was attacked by a bear on the Jepii Mici trail, near Valea Spumoasa. An intervention team from Salvamont Prahova moved to the area and discovered the victim had unfortunately passed away. The recovery operation was extremely challenging due to the rough terrain and the bear, which remained close by,” the organization stated on Tuesday.
Eventually, the bear attacked the rescuers as well, leading to it being killed. “This was a harrowing incident. We haven’t faced anything like this in the last 10-15 years,” a spokesperson for Salvamont Prahova told Digi24.ro.
Mircea Fechet, the Minister of the Environment, mourned Maria’s death, emphasizing the responsibility to protect both nature and human lives. “I believe that our duty is to protect nature and biodiversity, but above all, to safeguard human lives, because nothing is more valuable,” he expressed after conveying his condolences to Maria’s family.
According to EuroNews.com, during a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday, July 10, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said, “We cannot protect animals at the expense of people.”
Romania is home to the largest population of European brown bears. The wild animals can reach speeds of 30 mph and stand at 7 feet tall.
