Tragedy in Samaria Gorge: Tourist Dies in Rockfall

The bad weather in Greece has begun to claim its first victims. Heavy rain caused a rockfall in the Samari Gorge, killing a canyon visitor.

An unfortunate German tourist died after falling from a cliff caused by heavy rain that began after 1:30 p.m., local media reported. the downpour was not predicted by meteorologistsand there was no information about it. The incident occurred in a narrow part of the gorge in the Portese area, cretalive.gr reports.

The rock broke loose and fell on a tree, and a sharp fragment flew off the rock and hit the woman's thigh, who breathed her last from continuous bleeding. A doctor-tourist, also a hiking enthusiast, was at the scene and rushed to give her first aid, but to no avail.

EMAK and EMODE forces rushed to the scene to transport the woman and 32 other people who were in the gorge on foot, so as not to be trapped. Most of the trapped people went to Agia Roumeli to be transported to Sfakia by boat.

“The trapped people have left the scene. Some are in the village of Samaria for safety because they are elderly, but they are not considered trapped,” – said the head of the park's workers, Alkiviadis Pendarakis, in a statement to one of the television channels.

The Environment and Climate Change Agency said a landslide had killed a female tourist. It stressed that there were no other serious injuries among the 1,074 visitors. All the tourists had left the gorge except for two people who were escorted to the exit.

More about the statement of ΟΦΥΠΕΚΑ regarding the landslide in the Samaria Gorge:

“Today, Wednesday, September 18, a landslide occurred in the Samaria Gorge, resulting in the fatal injury of one visitor. No serious injuries were reported among the 1,074 other visitors.

By 16:55 all visitors had left, except for two people who were escorted under supervision until they left Xyloskalo, and 10 people were temporarily accommodated in the village of Samaria.

Teams from the Special Disaster Response Team are working in the area (E.M.A.K.) and the fire department. The gorge will remain closed as a precautionary measure until experts from the Hellenic Authority for Geology and Mineral Exploration (EAGME) and a team of geologists from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens carry out a survey.”.

Source link