A young woman drowned in a lake in Romania while running from a bear, Digi 24 TV reported. Authorities have launched an investigation to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident, BTA reported.
The 18-year-old girl was with friends in a forest in the Frumoasa Lake area in Harghita County. The young people were frightened by the presence of a bear in the area and while running, the girl fell from a high place into the deep-sea lake.
A specialized rescue team managed to pull the young woman out of the water, but despite the efforts of doctors, the girl died.
Romania is home to the largest population of brown bears in the EU. In a number of mountainous and forested areas of the country, incidents are increasingly common, and local residents have been demanding a solution to the problem for years. In 2021, the Romanian government adopted an emergency regulation that regulates the ways to intervene in situations where bears reach populated areas. Shooting is only envisaged if there is a danger to people and their property. In July 2024, after a fatal bear attack in a national park in Romania, parliament adopted additional measures that expanded the hunting quota.
Between 10,419 and 12,770 brown bears are found in Romania, with an optimal number of 4,000, the Minister of Environment, Water and Forestry, Mircea Fechet, announced earlier this month.