Harrowing moment hiker saw friend 'freefall 65ft to death' on dangerous mountain
A hiker has told of the heart-stopping moment he watched his friend fall 65ft down a notorious mountain peak to her death. Maria Eftimova, 28, was out hiking in the Welsh mountains with pals and suffered the fatal fall on the 3,000ft high Tryfan mountain in the Snowdonia National Park.
At an inquest into her death, a friend who was with her at the time described the harrowing moment Maria was "in freefall", and had passed over him as she fell from the popular but dangerous scrambling route. The former University of Salford student died of severe head injuries on February 22 this year, with a coroner ruling that her death was accidental.
Maria's friend Harry Jones told the inquest how they were a group of seven hikers out of 20 who had decided to take a more challenging route to the summit of Tryfan, along with fellow hiker Neil Oakes.
Neil had led the hikers in the front, followed by Maria and finally Harry, with the group proceeding methodically up the mountain, North Wales Live reports. "We travelled in single file, moving from ledge to ledge, once the person in front had vacated it," Harry said. "I could see on one particular ledge Maria stopped in order to get a handhold to pull herself up. I was six feet below her, to the left.
"She swung her right leg up to pull herself up. I asked 'Got it well?' and she said 'I think so'." Harry then saw Maria "flying over me", adding he "completely froze". Neil was above, and looked away as he saw her falling so he wouldn't see the impact.
He said: "I turned and saw Ms Eftimova tumbling through the air below me. She was already in freefall. I knew there was going to be an impact on the rocky outcrop below so I turned away for a split second.
"I was shouting 'No, no, no, no.' When I turned back she was on the ledge below. I knew that it was serious. (Another hiker above) said 'What?" and I said 'She's gone. She's fallen'. I was in shock."
Maria was helped onto a more secure ledge by other hikers, who then called 999 as one administered CPR until emergency services arrived. A Mountain Rescue Team and helicopter arrived to take Maria to OVMRT base - but she tragically succumbed to her injuries and passed away.
Consultant histopathologist Dr Muhammad Zain Mehdi carried out a post-mortem examination and concluded Maria died from a laceration to the brain, due to a fractured skull due to a fall.
Her dad Rosen Eftimov paid tribute to his daughter, saying that she had "snowboarded intensely" as well as running marathons and surfing. She also trained in intensive swimming, practised pole dancing, and had even undertaken a glacier climbing course in Norway.
Kate Robertson, senior coroner for north west Wales, concluded Maria's death was accidental. The inquest heard she was born in Sofia in Bulgaria and was a British citizen. She had graduated from the University of Salford and lived in St Helens.
Senior coroner Ms Robertson said: "It seems that Maria was scrambling with others when she has unintentionally and unexpectedly fallen and during the course of that fall she has sustained the injuries which have sadly led to her death."
Ms Robertson passed on her sincere condolences to her family, who were on a link and had a Bulgarian interpreter, and friends for the death of Ms Eftimova whom she described as "bright and conscientious".
Tributes were paid online to Maria via a JustGiving fundraiser launched to raise £15,000 to bring her back to her family in Bulgaria. In a post on the fundraiser, which has raised almost £20,000, organiser Victoria Critchley said: "Maria was an ambitious, bright and cherished 28-year-old, whose vibrant personality, energy and aura touched and uplifted all around her. She had a passion for engineering, having studied civil engineering at the University of Salford and a love for extreme sports.
"Her biggest passion being snowboarding, which she was super excited for and looking forward to doing again on her upcoming trip to Austria. She had an insatiable thirst for life and exploring our world's beauty. Tragically, she was taken from her family far far far too soon!"
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