Witnesses Reveal New Details About Influencer Maria Eftimova’s Death After 65-Foot Fall on Mountain

An inquest has yielded new information about Maria Eftimova’s death at age 28 earlier this year.

The travel influencer died while mountaineering in Wales on Feb. 22. At the time, the BBC reported that Eftimova had been climbing the north ridge of Tryfan mountain — which stands at 3,010 feet — with a group when she fell into steep terrain. The outlet stated that she fell around 65 feet.

An inquest held in Caernarfon, Wales investigated the circumstances of Eftimova’s death, per a recent update from the BBC published on June 13. It concluded that the Bulgaria native’s fatal fall occurred after she attempted to pull herself onto a ledge during the climb.

While rescue crew quickly arrived at the scene to perform CPR after the accident, the BBC stated that Eftimova died before she was taken off the mountain. She died from the injuries sustained in the fall.

Per the BBC, the inquest heard that Eftimova was one of about 18 people involved in organizing the trip up Tryfan. They ascended on a trail with no marked footpaths that requires scrambling — the use of both feet and hands to balance — in order to summit the hike.

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The U.K. news site reported that the group split up just past midway up the mountain. Most people took an easier path; Eftimova was one of six or seven people to opt for the harder route.

Another group member, Harry Jones, was directly behind the late influencer. He told the inquest about her struggle to grip a hold of the mountain while attempting to climb onto a ledge.

“She started to pull herself up,” he said in a statement in the BBC’s report. “But then I saw her flying over the top of my head down the mountainside.”

The outlet also included a statement from Neil Oakes, who was also in the group and recalled the tragic incident for the inquest. He said he saw Eftimova “tumbling through the air” below the group “in free fall.”

Oakes continued, “I was shouting ‘no, no, no’, and looked away.  When I looked back, I knew she’d hit a ledge below.”

The inquest heard that Eftimova’s death was an accident, according to the BBC.