A smartphone video has emerged showing the fatal bear attack that claimed the life of 60-year-old Christos Stavrianidis in northern Greece last June.
Stavrianidis and a friend, identified only as Dimitris, had trekked to the wreckage of a WWII-era plane on a mountainside in Drama prefecture when they encountered a large brown bear.
As they tried to escape, Stavrianidis fell into a ravine. Before his fatal plunge, his phone captured dramatic footage of the incident, including the bear charging, the men’s panicked shouts, and Stavrianidis urging his companion to use pepper spray against the animal.
The device was recovered hours later, and the footage was aired exclusively this week on Mega Channel’s prime-time newscast.
The video puts an end to speculation surrounding the June 10 attack, confirming for the first time the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.
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