Tourist, 35, dies in rockfall in Crete’s Samaria Gorge
A 35-year-old female tourist has been killed in a rockfall in Crete’s Samaria Gorge and other tourists are understood to be stranded in the area, where they were hiking.
According to information from the medical examiner’s office, the woman was injured in the shin and died of uncontrollable bleeding.
A helicopter has been mobilized to transport her body from the gorge.
Authorities have launched an operation to evacuate other visits to the gorge to safety as there is a fear that rainfall could cause more rockfalls. Teams from the Disaster Management Special Unit (EMAK) and the fire service are involved in the operation.
The weather forecast had been for light rain, with the possibility of sudden strong winds.
Two people have returned to the entrance of the gorge, 20 people are being escorted to the exit, while ten people are in the abandoned village of Samaria, about halfway along the route, where they might spend the night.
About 1,100 people visited the gorge since this morning.
At 16 kilometers in length, the Samaria Gorge is one of the longest in Europe.
