Pieria is mourning the tragic death of 44-year-old Georgia who died unexpectedly, when she was crushed by a sycamore branch, while sitting in an outdoor cafe on the banks of the Enipea river in Litochoro, on Friday evening (12/07 ).
But what makes the story even more tragic is that it all happened in front of her military husband and niece, who saw her killed instantly by the branch that broke and fell on her.
The terrifying moment saw 10 patrons trying to lift the branch while others tried to give her CPR, with her husband holding her tightly. Unfortunately, 44-year-old Georgia, who was a mother of two, was injured. Georgia was rushed to the local Health Center, where she was pronounced dead despite the efforts of the doctors.
The testimonies are terrifying – her husband narrowly escaped
Shocking is the description, eyewitness: “(…) I was sitting with my back 4-5 meters away and we heard a crack, something like lightning falling. Imagine this is a branch weighing over 700 kg, like a dropped bomb. He fell from a height of 10 meters, the plane tree is very high. It went down, dust rose, the lights went out. Until we understand what happened. The husband called the girl under the branch. We all went and picked him up, she dropped her and after a few minutes she lost her pulse.”
Another eyewitness said: “It was a shock. Suddenly we heard a noise and within a second there was panic,” she said while speaking to ANT1, and – according to information – her husband was saved at the last minute as the branch passed over his right.
Her husband was a tragic figure who stood by her side and held her hand until she was released.
“We were all in a hurry, myself included. I am hurt, full of scratches. It was a great collection of guys. It wasn’t a branch, it was a piece of trunk that fell to the earth. (…) Some parents were caught but fortunately they had come up and pulled the children aside. We only helped to get them out of the branches of the fallen log. It had fallen almost in the middle and the branches flattened the others as well,” said journalist Euripides Stamos.
The tragic irony that the bereaved Georgia lost her daughter-in-law a few days ago and it was she who was taking care of her underage niece. Unfortunately, the minor, in addition to the loss of her mother she had to deal with, saw her aunt killed in front of her eyes.
Why was the branch broken?
The place where the tragedy happened is full of plane trees and many people enjoy their coolness and shade in the shops of the area.
ELAS and the forest office carried out an autopsy at the scene of the tragedy, which found that the plane tree had no disease that would justify the fall of the branch.
In fact, the president of the community of Litochoro Pieria, Efstratios Kyriakakis, said: “The plane trees in this particular location are growing very fast and now we are thinking about the measures we will take so that we do not have to cry. another victim again. It was an unfortunate moment to find this particular one. In a week, in collaboration with the forestry department, they will show us which ones need to be pruned, to prune them” (…) It was found that the tree had no problem in terms of drought or internal corrosion. it’s a scary reason, and the foresters concluded that this decline was only because the particular branch was too heavy. Because many waters of Enipeos go under it”.
The owner of the store was arrested in connection with the fatal incident, but was later released with a verbal order from the prosecutor, and at the same time the AT. Dion Olympos is conducting a preliminary investigation to establish the exact circumstances of the tragic incident. 
It is noted that the cafeteria where the fatal accident took place, as well as the rest of the shops on the site, will remain closed until Monday as a sign of mourning.
Who was 44 years old Georgia?
The news of her loss shocked her family and the local community.
The unfortunate woman came from Karditsa and worked in Litochoro as her husband was serving there as a soldier.
Specifically, she moved to the area with her husband due to his transfer to a military unit in the area (Army Professional Hoplite) and they recently lived there with their two minor children.
In fact, a few days ago, the 44-year-old lost her daughter-in-law and she was taking care of her niece who was with her at the time of the tragedy.
On Friday night they went out together with their niece for a drink in a shop located in the Enipeas Gorge and that’s where the accident happened.
Tomorrow is the funeral of the late Georgia
The funeral of the unfortunate Georgia will take place tomorrow, Sunday 14 July 2024, at 19.00 at the Holy Church of Agios Nikolaos of the Community of Kallifonio Karditsa.