A serious incident occurred yesterday evening in the Albanian Alps, where a Dutch tourist lost his life after falling into an abyss along the mountain path connecting Theth with Valbona, in the Valbona Pass area.
According to preliminary information, the incident occurred at around 7:00 p.m. The victim was part of a group of foreign tourists who were traveling without an organized guide. Shocked by the incident, his friends immediately notified the emergency services.
Police announced that the tourist had slipped off a cliff and fallen into a steep area with dangerous terrain. Due to the difficulty of the terrain and the danger to other people, a large-scale search and rescue operation was immediately organized with the involvement of State Police forces, specialized mountain teams, nurses, as well as a helicopter launched from Tirana to assist in the field.
Mountain rescue specialists from Albania and Kosovo were also involved in the operation, as part of a regional cooperation in emergency cases. The Albanian Federation of Mountaineering and Mountain Tourism reacted immediately by sending a team of professionals from the Valbona area, who were joined by a representative of the local police. A specialized team from the Kosovo Federation of Mountaineering and Sport Climbing also came to help.
The operation to locate and extract the body took place in extremely difficult conditions due to the steep terrain and lack of lighting. Only in the early hours of this morning, after a long and dangerous effort, was it possible to extract the body from the abyss.
This is the second fatal incident for foreign tourists in this area in recent months, which brings to the fore the need for stronger security measures and compliance with travel protocols in mountainous areas.
Albanian authorities have launched investigations to clarify the full circumstances of the incident, while the victim's body will be transported to the Shkodra hospital morgue for further legal procedures and identification by Dutch consular authorities.
