This summer there has been a rash of incidents in which visitors to Greece have gone walking in the extreme heat and then lost their way or been injured. Often setting out without adequate resources, they have been unable to call the authorities in an emergency and some have ended up dying of heat exhaustion.
The most notable case was that of British TV doctor Michael Mosely, who after going swimming with friends at a beach on the island of Symi decided to walk back to their hotel alone, lost his way and expired on a rocky hillside just metres away from a beach bar where he could have found help. Inexplicably, he had neither water nor a mobile phone with him, although CCTV cameras showed him striding along with a parasol for protection.
The incidents highlighted the fact that Northern European visitors often fail to appreciate the harshness of nature in the countries bordering the Mediterranean and this is particularly apparent in Crete, where straying off the beaten track can quickly lead one into trouble. Much of the terrain is rocky with gullies and ravines into which a visitor who meets with an accident can easily disappear, making it all but impossible for rescue teams to find them.
However, a misadventure for a 60-year-old American tourist had a happy ending last week when he was injured while trying to walk from Sougia to ancient Lissos on the south coast. He was able to inform the emergency services via the European emergency number and was rescued by Fire Service personnel.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday 1st October, when the visitor, while walking with friends on the E4 footpath to the ancient site, stumbled and fell, injuring himself so that he was unable to walk. He immediately called 112 (the EU-wide emergency number) and a rescue operation was launched.
Nine Fire Service personnel from the main Chania Fire Station and two from the sub-section at Kampanos, 10 km north of Sougia, hurried to the spot, while a Special Disaster Response Team (EMAK) set out from Heraklion. However, the Disaster Response Team was not needed as the firemen managed to locate the 60-year-old before it arrived.
The injured man was carried on a stretcher to the beach at Lissos, where a privately owned boat was waiting to take them all to Sougia. From there an ambulance transferred the man, who had injured his hand as well as his foot, to Chania General Hospital.
Commenting on the incident, Haniotika Nea‘s Giannis Lyviakis noted that it highlighted two issues. The first was that it showed the usefulness of the 112 emergency number, an EU-wide free number which can be used to call for any sort of emergency assistance. Not only does the number immediately alert the responsible authorities, but it also transmits the geographical location of the person seeking help, facilitating the task of locating them for the emergency services.
The second was that it demonstrated the need to establish a permanent Disaster Response Unit at Chania. Since hikers regularly get lost or injured in the mountainous parts of the Nomos, it would cut down the extra hours needed for a team to arrive from Heraklion. Mr Lyviakis ended by calling for local MPs and local government bodies to petition the responsible minister for the establishment of such a unit at Chania. The time saved could make the difference between life and death for the person seeking help, he said.