Amorgos: injured man taken off Mouros beach

An operation to evacuate an injured man was carried out by the port authorities on Amorgos at midday on Tuesday 18 August. According to the report by Naxos Times, which cites the Amorgos Port Authority, a 24-year-old injured his shoulder while he was at ‘Mouros’ beach, on the south-eastern side of the island, and was unable to leave the spot under his own power. The alert reached the Port Authority around midday and immediate mobilisation followed. It was not made known exactly how the injury was caused, nor whether the 24-year-old was a visitor or a permanent resident of the island.

A patrol vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard was assigned to the operation, heading to the area and locating the injured man. The crew brought him off the shore and transported him safely by sea to the port of Katapola, where an EKAV ambulance was waiting. The 24-year-old was then taken to the Amorgos Health Centre, where he received medical care. The choice of sea transport rather than an overland route is no accident: Mouros beach is a small, rocky shore reached by a path with a steep descent, which makes carrying an injured person on a stretcher practically impossible. The combination of a patrol vessel and an ambulance is the standard transfer chain in such cases, with the Port Authority coordinating the transport and EKAV taking over from the harbour onwards.

The incident highlights a role of the Coast Guard that on the small islands of the Cyclades goes beyond policing and inspection duties. Patrol vessels often serve as the only available means of moving patients and injured people from isolated shores, caves and coves that no vehicle can reach. Amorgos, with an area of about 121 square kilometres and a sharp relief, has many such beaches, which in the summer months receive large numbers of visitors. The island is served by a Health Centre that covers initial treatment, while more serious cases are transferred to hospitals on Naxos, Syros or in Attica. The greatest density of visitors is recorded at Katapola and Aegiali, from where most of the hiking routes towards the southern shores also begin.

The 24-year-old’s condition has not been made known, nor whether he had to be transferred off the island after the initial assessment. Nor has it been announced whether there will be any further investigation of the circumstances, something that in beach accident cases is usually done only if indications of third-party responsibility emerge. Every summer the port authorities of the Cyclades advise visitors to avoid difficult shores without suitable footwear and to tell someone about their route, particularly when heading to spots with no mobile phone coverage. Comparable operations have been recorded repeatedly on the islands during the peak months.