A tragic incident unfolded in Romania when a 19-year-old girl lost her life to a bear attack during a hiking trip in the Bucegi mountains. The victim, Maria Diana, was with her boyfriend on the hiking trail when they encountered the bear. The bear attacked Diana while she was on a call with emergency services, dragging her off a 400-foot cliff.
Dan Banu, the head of the local mountain rescue service, shared the chilling details of the incident with the media. According to Banu, Diana was terrified and could be heard screaming about the bear getting closer. The emergency dispatcher was on the line, hearing the live account of the attack as Diana’s boyfriend shouted about the bear’s aggression. The bear grabbed Diana by the leg and dragged her away, leaving her boyfriend helpless.
Rescue teams arrived at the scene to find the bear still circling Diana’s body. The bear, exhibiting aggressive behavior, was shot dead by the rescuers. Diana’s boyfriend, who remained unharmed, recounted the horrifying incident. They had been climbing towards the Spumoasa waterfall when the bear appeared. He tried to scare the bear away, but his efforts were in vain.
Sabin Corniou, President of Salvamont Romania, the country’s mountain rescue services, provided further details about the attack. He stated that the bear attacked Diana on the trail, dragged her into the nearby vegetation, and dropped her into a chasm. The bear then followed her down. The rescue team found Diana in the abyss, her injuries too severe to survive.
Corniou noted that such aggressive behavior is unusual for bears, who typically react when they feel threatened or when food is present. He suggested that factors such as heat or a possible disease could have influenced the bear’s behavior, leading to such a direct attack.
Wild animal specialist Carmen Strungaru, however, offered a different perspective. Strungaru suggested that it was more likely that Diana, in her fear, tried to escape and fell into the abyss, with the bear following her. Romania is home to the largest population of brown bears in Europe, outside of Russia, with an estimated count of up to 8,000.