A coroner’s report released on Monday confirms that the death of a 33-year-old tourist attempting to hike through Crete’s famed Samaria Gorge last Wednesday amid a sudden squall was due to massive blood loss, although the latter was not caused by falling rocks.
Instead, the autopsy revealed that the woman, a Ukrainian national living in Germany, was severely cut in the leg by broken and jagged pieces of wood comprising the beams of the collapsed bridge she was passing.
The development appears to confirm initial testimony by eyewitnesses, who cited the small bridge’s collapse from rockslide due to the inclement weather instead of an actual rock or bolder striking the woman.
“Today, after 1:30 p.m., there was a strong downpour which caused a landslide. A rock hit a tree and fell on a German tourist. Despite the efforts of a medical doctor who was also a tourist hiking the gorge, the woman succumbed to hemorrhage. The incident was due to the rain,” said Alkiviadis Pentarakis, a supervisor of the National Park of Samaria, in an interview to MEGA television.
The Samaria Gorge is one of Crete’s main tourist attractions with hundreds of people hiking the narrow riverine canyon every day, mainly in the summer. The hike takes about six to seven hours.
