Authorities are trying to establish the circumstances in which an 18-year-old woman died at the Dermata waterfalls, in the Makedonida municipal unit of the Veria Municipality in northern Greece, with the evidence gathered so far pointing to an accident.

The young woman, who would have turned 18 the following day, had gone to the spot with her 17-year-old friend. The pair had been going in and out of the water in the pool formed beneath the waterfall, which, according to reports, is not particularly deep at that point.

At some point, the young woman reportedly gave her mobile phone to her friend so that he could photograph her. According to reports, she was then heard to exclaim “ah” before immediately falling into the water.

At first, the 17-year-old thought his friend was joking around. When he realised something serious had happened, however, he tried to pull her out of the water but was unable to. He then called 112, Greece’s equivalent of 999, and asked for help.

The Fire Service’s Operations Centre was informed of the incident at around 4:15pm on Thursday, 27 August.

Twelve firefighters with three vehicles from the Makedonida Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Veria Fire Service were dispatched to the scene, along with four firefighters from the Underwater Rescue Team of the 2nd Special Disaster Response Unit (EMAK).

Despite the operation, the outcome was tragic, as the young woman was found unconscious in the pool.

The 17-year-old, who was with the young woman at the time of the incident, has already given a statement to the authorities, while her mobile phone was confiscated so that the photographs on it could be examined for any evidence that might shed light on her final moments before she fell into the water.

According to the information available so far, the case is being treated as an accident. The initial assessment is that the 18-year-old, who had a history of epilepsy, may have suffered an epileptic seizure or cardiac arrest while in the water.

The exact cause of her death is expected to be established by a forensic examination.