An 18-year-old woman has died after falling into the water at the Dermata waterfalls near Veria in northern Greece, prompting a major rescue operation involving specialist divers.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon, 27 August, at the waterfalls near Rizomata in Imathia, within the Municipality of Veria. Authorities were alerted at approximately 4.15pm after a person who was with the young woman called Greece’s 112 emergency number.
According to ERT, the 18-year-old had travelled to the waterfalls with a friend while staying in the area for the summer. The pair had gone to the site to take photographs when, under circumstances that remain unclear, she fell into the water and was unable to resurface.
A substantial emergency response followed. Twelve firefighters and three vehicles from the Makedonidos Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Veria Fire Service were deployed, together with four members of the 2nd EMAK Underwater Rescue Team.
Specialist divers entered the pool formed beneath the waterfall, where they located the young woman and brought her to the surface. She was subsequently taken by EKAB ambulance, with Greek authorities and media later confirming her death.
The precise circumstances surrounding the fall have not been established.
Dermata is one of several waterfalls and natural pools in the countryside surrounding Rizomata, a mountain village in the Pieria range. The Municipality of Veria’s tourism site describes Dermata, along with nearby Moutsiougounti, Apokleismos and Riganaria, as part of a landscape of small waterfalls and pools closely associated with the local community.
The death has shocked the surrounding area, with local reporting identifying the young woman as being from Rizomata and having returned to the region for her summer holidays.
Authorities are continuing to examine how she came to fall into the water.
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