A teenage model died in a parasailing accident in Montenegro after she panicked and unbuckled her safety harness, causing her to fall 160 feet into the Adriatic Sea in Budva.
Emergency services quickly tried to look for 19-year-old Tijana Radonjic, a Serbian national, after the incident. However, authorities later confirmed that the teenager had died. She was on holiday with her aunt when she decided to go parasailing after being approached by a rep on the beach.
Teen Dies While Parasailing After Falling 160 Feet
Other reports claimed that the victim was filming a promotional video for a local tourist agency when she went parasailing. Family members of the victim are demanding an investigation into the accident despite reports citing a "panic attack" as the cause of the fall.
Radonjic's parents, Branka and Goran, said they will never be able to come to terms with their daughter's death or accept that she is already gone. In their heartbreaking farewell to their late child, they said she will be missed forever, according to NDTV.
On the other hand, Mirko Krdzic, the owner of the parasailing company that operated the ride the teenager was on, paid his condolences to the family, noting that Radonjic appeared fine before going parasailing.
He added they were all surprised about what happened and were unsure of what actually happened with the teenager while she was up in the air. The owner said that Radonjic did not show any signs of being afraid of flying before the ride and had already undergone training.
Video footage of the accident was shared by local media outlets, showing the distressed teenager tearing away her life jacket while parasailing. Some witnesses claimed they heard Radonjic screaming, "Put me down" shortly before falling into the water, News.com.au reported.
Potential Panic Attack
Krdzic said that they are now conducting technical inspections of all of their equipment while the results of the teenager's autopsy have not yet been released. The victim's family paid tribute to the late teen on social media.
"You were brave to try to save your young life, but unfortunately, you didn't succeed," one relative said in a post. The incident comes as Budva's long sandy beaches, clear blue sea, and lively nightlife have become an attractive prospect for many tourists who want to enjoy and have fun, as per the National World.
Another relative said that Radonjic was waving while she was parasailing from a lower height, where her enjoyment was visible to onlookers. However, when the ride slipped behind the hill and she was hoisted higher and higher, that was when the accident occurred.
