Travel influencer, 28, fell 60ft to her death in front of her friends on one of Britain's deadliest mountains
Influencer Maria Eftimova, 28, who friends said had an 'insatiable thirst for life and exploring our world's beauty', joined a Facebook group who went hiking up a 3,000ft Snowdonia peak, which is located in Wales.
The thrill-seeker was an experienced mountaineer who had recently completed an ice-climbing course in Norway.
But tragically the engineering student lost her footing when her heel slipped while scrambling up Tryfan on February 22.
Neil Oakes, who was among a group of about 18 on the peak when the party split in two, said he had been ahead of Eftimova and turned around to check on his companions.
'I turned around again and saw Maria tumbling through the air below me,' he said in a statement to an inquest into her death on Wednesday.
He added: 'I knew there was going to be an impact. I was shouting "No,no,no!" When I turned back she had hit the ledge below.'
Harry Jones, another witness to the tragedy, said about seven of the group on the peak had been going from ledge to ledge.
Eftimova was ahead of him and slipped as she pulled herself up. He said: 'All I saw was her flying over the top of my head and down the mountainside.'
Jones said he 'froze' then called emergency services. A rescue helicopter and mountain rescuers arrived at the scene but Eftimova died from multiple injuries.
Jed Stone, of Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team, told the hearing she had been scrambling on the north ridge of Tryfan, an area of steep rocky ground and many cliff faces.
Originally from Bulgaria, Eftimova had lived in the UK for ten years.
A heartbroken friend previously posted a video of the group of walkers attempting the 'Mexican wave' on the peak - half an hour before the tragic slip.
Nargesse El Haiba wrote on Facebook in a tribute: 'This will have been roughly 30 minutes before your tragic accident and you taking your last breaths in front of me.
'I have grieved you and cried so much that I can't cry anymore. I will never take the mountains for granted again.'
Eftimova - who was studying at Salford University in Manchester, England - was a keen climber, surfer and snowboarder who had climbed Tryfan several times.
In a statement her father Rosen said: 'We learned about Maria's death from a telephone call from her friends with her at the time of the accident.'
North West Wales senior coroner Kate Robertson told the hearing: 'Very sadly it seems Maria was scrambling with others when she's unintentionally and unexpectedly fallen.
'During the course of that fall, she has sustained the injuries which have sadly led to her death. That fall was entirely accidental.'
She concluded that Eftimova's death had been an accident.
When she opened the inquest, the coroner said Eftimova had been 'trying to reach a ledge to get a grip on the hand-hold and has gone to lift herself up'.
She added: 'Her heel has slipped and she's fallen from the ledge and it appears she's fallen some distance.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Bethesda man charged after car driven into man on high street
A 19-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent after a car was driven into a man on a town high Wales Police were called to reports of an altercation between four people on Bethesda High Street in Gwynedd at about 13:00 BST on after, a car was driven into one of the men involved, the force 19-year-old from Bethesda has also been charged with assault, driving dangerously, driving without insurance and driving while disqualified. He was due to appear before Llandudno Magistrates Court on 20 other people arrested in connection with the incident have since been bailed while investigations services attended the scene and one man was taken to hospital and has since been released.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Huw Edwards steps out with mini bottles of prosecco to celebrate his 64th birthday in Swansea
Huw Edwards stepped out to grab three mini bottles of prosecco to celebrate his 64th birthday on Monday. The disgraced BBC newsreader was seen returning to his car in Swansea, Wales after a brief outing to the shops. The Welshman wore a pale blue polo shirt and black trousers when he was spotted filling his car with petrol and buying prosecco. Huw pleaded guilty to having indecent images of children on July 31 at Westminster Magistrates' Court, including 13 of the most serious category A and one of a child as young as seven. He was among the BBC's highest-paid, with its accounts putting him in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24. This was a £40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999. In May, it was reported Huw ignored pleas from BBC bosses to return the £200,000 he was paid after his arrest. BBC Chairman Samir Shah said the presenter has been asked numerous times to give the money back, The Sun reported. Mr Shah told Times Radio: 'We've been asking him and asking him and asking him. We're getting legal advice on it.' He made a direct appeal to Huw saying: 'If Huw is listening, give it back. Just give it back.' The former News At Ten anchor was on £475,000 a year at the time of his arrest in November 2023. While some BBC staff were aware he had been held, he was not sacked at the time. In April 2024 he was allowed to step down on medical grounds. At the time the Welshman was not dismissed despite some more senior BBC staff being aware of his arrest, with reports he paid a teenager £35,000 for sexual images later emerging last September. He was handed a six-month suspended sentence sparking outrage among campaign groups who branded it 'ludicrous, absurd and embarrassing' that he had been allowed to walk out of court instead of being sent to prison. The Welshman wore a pale blue polo shirt and black trousers when he was spotted filling his car with petrol and buying prosecco He was among the BBC's highest-paid, with its accounts putting him in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24 The disgraced newsreader popped out to get his essentials As well as a suspended sentence, Huw was also put on the sex offender register and was told he had to take part in rehabilitation sessions. At the time BBC boss said there were discussions regarding the six-figure sum Huw had earned following his arrest saying the BBC could possibly go down the legal route to retrieve the wages. Huw is currently being divorced by his wife Vicky Find, who is also the mother of his five children, with his £4.75 million Dulwich home also up for sale.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Disgraced Huw Edwards spotted with new beard & carrying bottles of Prosecco on birthday – year on from paedo conviction
DISGRACED Huw Edwards is seen clutching three miniature bottles of £3.35 Prosecco - as he breaks cover for a lonesome stroll on his birthday. Paedophile Edwards - sporting new grey facial hair and glasses - looked grim-faced as he was spotted on Monday, the day he turned 64. 7 7 7 7 Our exclusive pictures show the ex-BBC presenter holding his car keys, a parking receipt, a blue cap and three bottles of Tesco finest Prosecco Brut - £3.35 each at the supermarket - as he returned to his car. The fallen star, whose wife Vicky has filed for divorce, was wearing a wedding ring when he was seen in his native South Wales. It is the first time former News at Ten host Edwards has been seen since we revealed pictures of him spluttering on a vape in February. And an onlooker said: "Edwards looked very different, with glasses very grey hair and a beard and moustache. "He was dressed smartly but also looked like he had put on a bit of weight. "And he looked a shadow of his former cocky and super-confident self. "Edwards struck a very odd figure - and it was quite a peculiar sight seeing him heading back to his car with the mini-Prosecco bottles. It made me wonder who they were for, or if they were a gift to him. "Whatever the situation, Edwards looked a bit tragic - which he is. "He was quite near Swansea train station and looked like he could have been to see any remaining friends he has before heading off in his car. "There are a few nice places nearby including a hotel he could have come from. BBC failed to tackle 'unacceptable' stars' behaviour - as Huw Edwards victim's family called report 'too little too late' "Although he looked different he was very recognisable. "But considering who he is he looked pretty relaxed and was strolling about freely - not trying to hide his identity. "No-one bothered him though and he seemed comfortable being out and about. "He just looked like a middle-aged man going about his business, but it does make you sick when you consider what he's done." The star avoided prison, instead being handed a six-month suspended sentence, having resigned from the Beeb on "medical advice" in April 2024. Dad-of-five Edwards has since kept a largely low profile in his native Wales. It comes after The Sun revealed earlier this week that BBC staff are furious that bosses have failed to recoup his £200,000 salary earned amid the scandal. Executives formally requested last August that former newsreader Edwards, 63, return wages he received after his arrest on paedophile charges. After a Sun probe, using freedom of information laws, the broadcaster said: 'Huw Edwards has not r eturned any money paid to him by the BBC after his arrest, in respect of any of his work for either BBC public service or the BBC's commercial operations. 'The BBC has asked for all the money paid to Huw Edwards by the BBC for the period November 2023 (arrest) and April 2024 (resignation) to be returned.' A BBC insider said: ' Everyone is raging about it — firstly at Huw, who is a disgrace, secondly that gutless bosses seem unwilling or unable to do anything about it.' Edwards left the BBC three months before he was charged with having indecent images of children. The mum who blew the whistle on Edwards after he paid her son £35,000 for sexual pictures in a separate case exposed by The Sun previously told us: 'Does this man not have an ounce of shame? "How can he keep this money after what he's done?' Meanwhile, a victim of Edwards earlier this summer lashed out at the BBC after it emerged bosses were warned of his behaviour as far back as 2012. Heavily redacted emails showed they received a complaint about the ex-News at Ten host amid the fallout over the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal. It also emerged execs were forced to keep a spreadsheet on their scandal-hit stars as they were so deluged by grievances. As reported by The Sun in May, emails show that an hour before his sentencing, a message was sent to BBC director-general Tim Davie from an ex-Beeb employee revealing a complaint had been made about Edwards' conduct in 2012. The author warned it was 'an area of potential risk to the corporation' but 'not necessarily a criminal allegation'. They wrote the complaint was 'most likely listed under the so-called 'C-List' if it's anywhere'. That is a reference to a spreadsheet of claims against BBC presenters created after Savile's crimes were exposed a year after his death. The C category was for 'non-high-risk actions' — cases which are not necessarily criminal, but included allegations of bullying and harassment. Davie replied three minutes later saying his team was 'looking into all the past allegations'. Paedo's pattern of behaviour By Scarlet Howes NIGHT after night he sternly delivered the most important news to the nation, with his authoritative style winning countless awards. But away from his famous desk, as we have discovered, Huw Edwards was a manipulative paedophile who used the same pattern of behaviour time and time again to feed his relentless desires. Some 437 days since the Sun's bombshell front page - Edwards today appeared in court to learn his fate, his once glittering career in ruins. Our exclusive that he paid a youngster thousands of pounds for sexual pictures made headlines around the globe and set into motion a series of events which plunged the BBC into crisis. And Edwards - at the time the BBC's highest earning newsreader - never again appeared on our screens. Today, a court heard Edwards paid a younger convicted paedophile £1,500 for child sex images and videos of children which he described as "amazing". The case centred on messages between sex offender Alex Williams, who was a teen when they struck up a relationship, and 63-year-old Edwards. We must be clear, the facts of that case are unrelated to our original story. But there are some alarming similarities in his exchanges with both young people - and a pattern of deeply disturbing behaviour. He made contact with both on social media, messaged them on WhatsApp, harassed them for pictures, and then gave them money. There were kisses involved and Christmas presents given. Chillingly, he even bought both of them, who are decades younger, a pair of trainers. And all in exchange for sexual pictures. Cash was used as leverage to the men, one homeless, the other a student, who could only dream of earning his top salary. What The Sun uncovered was a pattern of behaviour and had we not done so Edwards' could well have remained undetected. A TV producer who was harassed by Edwards urged BBC bosses to finally 'come clean' on the scandal. Edwards begged to meet him during lockdown and even invited him to his BBC-funded Windsor hotel at Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021. He told The Sun: 'These emails show the BBC has been mounting a full-scale covert operation to keep the details under wraps. 'The BBC has never wanted the truth to come out and people have had to push very hard for it to do so. But now BBC bosses should just come clean about the whole thing. 'For an organisation that constantly puts itself on a moral pedestal of truth, the lengths the BBC goes to in order to cover things up are staggering. 'The fact there were details of his unacceptable behaviour in 2012 is shocking — the BBC acted all along as if no one knew.' Edwards' divorce delayed In June, The Sun reported how Edwards' divorce had been delayed as the asking price for his family home was slashed by £750,000. His TV producer wife Vicky Flind filed for divorce days after he admitted possessing indecent images of children. Their six-bedroom detached mansion in Dulwich, south London was then put up for sale for £4.75 million last October. But no buyers were found, despite a £250,000 price cut in February. The property has attracted so little interest that online site Zoopla was urging 'be one of the first to view' - nine months after it went on sale. Agents have now reduced the price by a further £500,000, as the couple attempt to accelerate their split. The couple bought the six-bedroom home for £1.85 million in 2006 and it is mortgage-free - and 63-year-old Edwards expected to rake in more than £2 million from his share of the sale. But the plummeting price means the presenter - who earned £475,000 at the peak of his career - has already lost more than £300,000 he hoped to rake in last year. 7 7 7
