A British holidaymaker, 76, tragically drowned while swimming off the coast of a popular Greek tourist spot, Kalymnos, as his wife watched on in horror. The horrifying incident occurred on Tuesday during their visit to one of Greece’s Dodecanese Islands, situated next to the Turkish mainland.
This island is approximately 70 miles from Marmaris, a Mediterranean resort town where another British pensioner drowned last month.
Local news site palmoskalymnou reported that the couple had travelled by boat from the nearby island Kos, south of Kalymnos, and were swimming near Vathi port. The elderly man had been enjoying a coastal tour in Mugla Province with friends before deciding to take a dip in the Mediterranean as temperatures soared to 25C.
Unfortunately, the Brit struggled to return to the boat, prompting his distressed friends to call for help. A team of coastguards, police and divers in two boats swiftly responded, pulling him from the water and rushing him to waiting paramedics on the beach on April 16.
Despite their best efforts, they were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither authorities nor Greek media have released the man’s name, reports the Mirror.
The cause of the drowning remains unclear. An investigation has been launched by the Kalymnos port authority.
The tragic death comes after another British man tragically died in Greece in September last year, after being pulled unconscious from the sea and later dying in hospital. The 57-year-old was found on a beach in Zakynthos and taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
And a four-year-old Polish boy was swept out to sea in the same village, Laganas, just days before. Despite wearing a life jacket, the child was dragged away from the shore by strong winds before being later rescued by emergency services.
Neither the man nor the young boy have been named.