Naxos: death of 95-year-old passenger on Blue Star Naxos

On the evening of Sunday, 13 September 2026, a 95-year-old Greek passenger on the passenger/cargo ship “BLUE STAR NAXOS” suddenly had difficulty breathing and lost consciousness while the vessel was at sea. According to the Naxos Port Authority, the incident occurred during the service operating the route connecting Katapola, Koufonisi, Schinoussa, Irakleia, Naxos, Paros and Piraeus, a route that serves daily residents and visitors to the so-called “small Cyclades.” The elderly passenger’s condition deteriorated rapidly within a short period of time, with the result that the ship’s crew immediately mobilized and immediately notified the competent port authorities of the incident.

First aid was immediately provided on board to the 95-year-old, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted with the assistance of a private doctor who was traveling as a passenger on the same route and offered his help without delay. Despite the efforts made at sea by the crew and the doctor, the elderly woman’s condition did not improve, and the passenger was subsequently transferred to the General Hospital – Health Centre of Naxos, where doctors confirmed her death. The Naxos Port Authority was immediately informed and took over coordination of the subsequent actions in cooperation with the hospital, while an autopsy-necrotomy was ordered at the Forensic Medicine Service of Piraeus, as provided for in every case of death at sea.

The incident brings to the fore the issue of medical coverage on the “small Cyclades” routes, which serve islands without their own hospital, such as Koufonisi, Schinoussa and Irakleia. On these routes, management of emergency cases is largely dependent on the training and readiness of the crew and, as occurred on the evening of Sunday, 13 September 2026, on the possible presence of a doctor among the passengers. The General Hospital – Health Centre of Naxos remains the primary point of reference for neighboring islands when the need for immediate hospitalization arises, given that not all islands in the area have permanent medical infrastructure. Corresponding issues have also occupied other parts of the Aegean recently, such as the injury of an 83-year-old passenger on a ship in Paros and the return to Syros due to illness of a sailor on the Blue Star 2, incidents that revealed again the challenges of health coverage in ferry services of the Cyclades.

The cause of the 95-year-old’s death has not been clarified and is expected to emerge from the autopsy-necrotomy to be carried out at the Forensic Medicine Service of Piraeus. The Naxos Port Authority is conducting a preliminary investigation for the full investigation of the circumstances of the incident, with no further details regarding the identity or health condition of the passenger before the event having been announced so far. Similar procedures have been followed in other recent health incidents involving passengers on ships in the area, such as in the case of the emergency case handled by a rural doctor in Anafi. Until the completion of the preliminary investigation and the autopsy-necrotomy, no further announcement from the competent authorities is expected.