Greek-Australian Student Falls to Her Death in Norway

Greek-Australian student Kristi Kafcaloudis was studying as an exchange student at the University of Bergen in Norway. The 24-year-old woman who had transferred from Monash University in Australia, went on a hike on Sunday, September 6, in Hordaland county a mountainous region, famous for its majestic cliffs.

Kristi was enjoying the trip along with a group of her friends, however, when she went to pose for a photo near the cliff edge of the Trolltunga rock formation she reportedly lost her balance and slipped, falling 200 meters to her death. Due to a lack of mobile network coverage in the area, the people in the area were not able to immediately notify the authorities. According to state broadcaster NRK the student’s friends attempted to help her but soon discovered that it was impossible. In the end they sent an emergency signal via their GPS.

Trained men with climbing gear and a helicopter arrived at the scene and searched for hours before recovering the body of the young woman. The local mayor described the incident as a tragic and sad accident.

“It was an accident. She was nowhere near the end of the rock – and not taking a selfie,” noted Kristi’s mother; Milli Kafcaloudis in a statement, according to ABC. “Apparently there were a lot of people on the rock that weekend, and Kristi was waiting about two meters out on the rock to come back to rejoin her two friends who were walking ahead of her.”

Sha also added that her daughter was trying to walk around a group of tourists who were taking photos at the site. “Because other people were posing for a photo being taken, she waited and walked on a little side track to get around them … but the rocks were loose and she lost her balance and fell,” she said. “There were two witnesses who were taking photos that saw what happened as they were actually facing the scene … police are investigating and gathering statements.”