Three others were injured during the group climb
Credit: Antonia Mihailescu/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- A 36-year-old female climber died after falling more than 30 feet in Romania’s Bucegi Mountains during a group climb on July 11
- The woman and three other climbers fell when their shared belay device reportedly failed, prompting a complex three-hour rescue operation
- Police have opened a criminal case into the incident to determine possible manslaughter and negligent bodily harm
A 36-year-old climber plunged more than 30 feet to her death in the Bucegi Mountains in Romania.
The woman was part of a group of four climbers who fell 33 feet while climbing in Valea Albă in the mountain range on July 11, according to local Romanian outlets Digi24, Observator News and DC News, which cited the Romanian Department for Emergency Situations (DSU).
The four climbers were attached to the rock with the same belay device when the rope gave way and they fell, according to Digi24. One of the climbers who fell managed to call emergency services, according to Observator News and DC News.
“Four people accompanied by an instructor were climbing in Valea Albă,” Prahova County Prefect Dan Nicodim said. “We are probably dealing with mountain enthusiasts, people with minimal training.”
Credit: Antonia Mihailescu/Instagram
“The first information was that a rope broke, so it was an accident, an error in this regard. Not a human error or a group of tourists caught unprepared in the mountains,” he added.
Four helicopters, including a Black Hawk, were dispatched in the rescue operation, and rescuers were lowered onto the slope where the four people were, according to Digi24.
It reportedly took three hours to get the climbers out of the slope and to safety. Bogdan Toma with the DSU told Observator News in a translated statement that the rescue operation was challenging.
“The area we are talking about is difficult to access, both for the Mountain Rescue teams and for the medical team. The operation was against the clock, no time was lost,” Toma said.
PEOPLE has reached out to the DSU for comment on the incident.
One of the rescuers, Sergiu Frusinoiu, told DC News and Digi24: “We instructed [the climbers] over the phone to shine a bright light, from the phone’s flash or flashlight, at the helicopter when we are above them so we can see them.”
Credit: Antonia Mihailescu/Instagram
Two men were transported to Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest, while a third man was transported to Brașov County Hospital, DC News reported. They were between the ages of 27 and 51, per the outlet.
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Doctors told DC News that all four climbers were initially conscious after the fall, but the condition of one of the climbers — identified as Antonia Mihăilescu, a 36-year-old dentist, mountaineer and tourist — worsened after more than an hour.
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the incident, a spokesperson told DC News and Digi24. “The police are carrying out checks in terms of committing the crimes of manslaughter and negligent bodily harm,” they said.
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