Moment tourists are swept off their feet as huge swell from passing ship crashes over Mykonos beach washing away sunbeds and leaving two injured – as ‘reckless’ ferry captain is arrested
- A woman reportedly suffered broken ribs after being hit by the large wave
Holidaymakers on Mykonos were in for an unpleasant surprise when a passenger ferry hit the beach at high speed and caused a large wave to wash over the beach, knocking several people to their deaths.
Two people were injured when the large wave broke the calm water and crashed onto the shore, with one woman reportedly suffering broken ribs.
An angry beachgoer filmed the moment the boat’s wake hit the beach. The dramatic footage shows swimmers running from the sea and screaming.
Then the water covers the entire beach and you see shocked tourists rushing to gather their belongings before they are washed away by the powerful waves.
The boat responsible docked at the port of Rafina on the Greek mainland, where the captain was arrested. Local media defeated.
Bathers were seen rushing to get out of the sea as the wave approached out of nowhere
A wall of water can be seen building up and then crashing down on a woman who is still in the sea
The water crashed onto the beach before covering the sand, knocking some off their feet
Two young people can be seen helping a woman who has been caught in the strange wave
Beachgoers run to escape the wave, while others are swept away by the shocking tidal wave
The incident happened around noon on Saturday on the popular beach of Agios Stefanos, next to Tourlos, the new port of Mykonos.
Sun loungers and personal belongings were washed away as speedy sunbathers jumped and ran to a nearby wall to escape the waves.
Two teenagers and a much younger boy run out of the sea as they see the approaching wave.
Meanwhile, a woman who has remained in the ocean can be seen taking the full force of the wave, which crashes over her head and onto the ground.
The two boys run back to check on her and try to help her get out of the sea.
Takis Papadakos, who filmed the flood and shared video of the incident on Facebook, said the woman in the video “was hospitalized with two broken ribs.”
He criticised the ferry company, saying the captain passed ‘as close and as fast as ever’ as they tried to keep to their route.
Shocked tourists were seen rushing to retrieve their belongings before they were washed away
The Coast Guard said beach chairs and people’s belongings were scattered across the wave
Children and their parents run away from the huge wave as other shocked beachgoers look on
A huge cruise ship can be seen in the background of the video, but beachgoers blame a speeding passenger ferry
A huge cruise ship can be seen in the background of the video, but beachgoers and the coast guard blame a smaller ship for the chaos. The smaller ship is not visible in the footage.
The boat is believed to have belonged to Fast Ferries Andros, a company that transports tourists and locals between the mainland, Mykonos and several other islands.
Authorities arrested the captain for violating rules regarding reckless boating near other boats and causing unintentional injury, news site Prototheme defeated.
Mykonos port authorities are said to have launched an investigation.