Statistics, omissions, human tragedies and a detailed list of everything we need to watch out for.
He was only 30 years old. He never got out of the sea. The huge waves, a misjudgement, the undercurrents of the area, swallowed the body of Stefanos who was found on Kathisma beach in Lefkada with his friends to celebrate his bachelor party as in a few days he would be dressed as a groom.
The tragic incident of 30-year-old Stefanos Kemos in Lefkada highlights in the most painful way the dangers that lurk on Greek beaches, especially when natural phenomena are combined with the absence of adequate lifeguard coverage.
Stefanos, originally from Trikala, had visited Lefkada to celebrate his bachelor party in view of his wedding, which was scheduled for June 14. On Sunday afternoon, May 25, he decided to swim at Kathisma beach, an area he knew well and had visited many times before. However, on that day, the weather conditions were particularly unfavourable, with strong winds and dangerous waves.
As Mega reports the lifeguard who rushed to the spot, bathers alerted him about a man who had been swept away by the waves. When he arrived, he found Stefanos unconscious in the water. Despite attempts at CPR, it was not possible to revive the 30-year-old, who was handed over to ambulance rescuers shortly afterwards without a pulse.
The lifeguard said that on this beach there is often the phenomenon of the "washing machine wave", where the wave throws the swimmer out and in a fraction of a second pulls him back in. On the day of the accident, the sea was particularly rough, with several gusts of wind, making swimming extremely dangerous.
Kathisma is not a "conventional" beach. The depth rises steeply, just a few meters from the shore. The morphology of the seabed and the exposure to the westerly winds create undercurrents that change unpredictably in a matter of minutes. For someone inexperienced - especially tourists - the risk of being swept away without being able to return is deadly.
Unfortunately, the Seat has a history of similar incidents. On June 17, 2023, a 50-year-old man died when he was swept away by waves while trying to take a photo with his wife at the edge of the beach. The huge waves swept them away, causing the man to drown.
Drownings on Greek beaches are a systematic cause of death every summer. Yet, they are still treated as "accidents".
The silent epidemic of drownings
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 236,000 people die each year from drowning, with most victims being children aged 5-14 years and the elderly. 25 July has been designated as World Drowning Prevention Day, in an effort to bring even minimal attention to a problem that kills silently.
Greece has the 9th longest coastline in the world, with 13,676 km of sea, thousands of beaches, hundreds of islands and more than 30 million tourists a year. Yet, drowning remains one of the main out-of-hospital causes of death in our country, according to ELSTAT and Coast Guard data.
According to the latest available data, in 2023, 407 drowning deaths were recorded in Greece, of which 400 occurred at sea and the remaining 7 in inland waters, such as lakes and rivers. Of these, 71% (288 persons) were males and 29% (116 persons) were females. The majority of the victims were people over 60 years old, while about 10 children and adolescents lose their lives to drowning every year in Greece.
Remarkably, 62% of drowning deaths occur on beaches without lifeguard coverage, which underlines the importance of the presence of lifeguards to prevent such tragedies.
The Ionian Islands with hidden dangers
In the Ionian Islands - from Corfu to Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Lefkada - dozens of drowning incidents are recorded every summer. The tourist flows are huge, the beaches are spectacular but in many cases not safe at all.
In Kefalonia, the beaches of Myrtos and Platis Gialos are wonderful but unpredictable. In Corfu, the Eros Channel and the beach of Issos hide strong currents and steep depths. In Zakynthos, the Shipwreck has repeatedly caused deaths due to falls and drownings.
And of course, in Lefkada - Kathisma.
Time-delayed drowning: the "invisible" enemy
Another, lesser known but real threat is drowning on land, or secondary drowning. This is an extremely rare phenomenon (1-2% of drowning incidents), in which the victim experiences complications even 24 hours after the dive.
Water entering the airways causes laryngospasm or neurogenic pulmonary edema, with symptoms such as:
- wheezing and difficulty breathing
- foam in the mouth
- drowsiness or lethargy
- bruising or coughing that does not stop
The delay of symptoms makes diagnosis more difficult. If there is no immediate medical intervention, sudden death can occur.
Who is most at risk?
The most vulnerable groups are:
- Elderly people, due to cardiac/respiratory problems
- Children, due to less supervision and physical weakness
- Men, statistically more often recorded as victims
- Tourists, who do not know the local terrain and often swim unsupervised
Precautionary rules that save lives
For everyone:
- Never alone at sea
- Not after alcohol or a heavy meal
- Always up to date on weather and currents
- No overestimation of possibilities
For children:
- Always supervision from a close distance
- Use of a life jacket
- Basic training in swimming and self-rescue
For the elderly:
- No bathing without an escort
- Medical advice if there is a history
- Short duration, mild hours
What can and should change
- Universal presence of lifeguards on all busy beaches
- Information campaigns for tourists, schools and media
- Maritime safety lessons in schools
- Special markings for beaches with currents or steep depths
- Use of technology (e.g. weather apps, QR codes for safety information)
Why every drowning is preventable
There is nothing "accidental" about a drowning. Every drowning is not just a numerical record, it is a person, a story, a family plunged into grief. Many times, the responsibility is not individual. When municipalities do not provide lifeguards, when there are no information signs, when the state leaves local communities without support, then death at sea becomes a collective issue. These are not accidents - these are foreshadowed events that are repeated every summer. As long as they remain 'invisible', they will continue to kill.
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