- A French swimmer who went into the sea off Mades was found dead on Saturday.
- His body was located offshore, close to the area where the search had been underway.
- Coast Guard vessels, fishermen, divers, drones and aerial resources took part in the operation.
- Authorities have ordered a forensic examination as the investigation continues.
A search operation off Mades, near Agia Pelagia, ended tragically on Saturday with the discovery of a French visitor who had gone swimming and failed to return.
The man’s body was located approximately one mile from Mades and around 200 meters from the shore. A patrol vessel from the Linoperamata Port Authority recovered him from the sea and transferred him to the port before he was taken to Heraklion General Hospital, where his death was confirmed.
The report initially identified the man as 69 years old, while the Coast Guard’s official statement gives his age as 78. Formal identification remains pending.
Coast Guard vessels, a rescue vessel, professional fishing boats, divers and aerial resources participated in the search. Drones were also deployed, including a Fire Service drone, while an aircraft conducted aerial searches.
Professional fishermen from Heraklion, Agia Pelagia and Panassos joined the operation and played an important role in the search.
Coast Guard personnel also searched the surrounding coastline by vehicle, while search teams examined the seabed around Mades and the area near the hotel where the French visitor had been staying.
The man had reportedly been due to travel back to France on Saturday.
“Early this morning, the Port Authorities of Heraklion, Linoperamata, and Rethymno were notified by the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center (E.K.S.E.D.) of the Coast Guard-ELAKT Headquarters regarding a 78-year-old foreign swimmer (a French national) who went missing in the waters off “MADE” Beach in Malevizi. The local emergency plan was immediately activated, and three Coast Guard patrol boats (PLS), two private vessels, five fishing boats, a small motorboat, a private diver, an unmanned vessel from the Crete SMYE Unit, and an aerial asset from FRONTEX launched search operations. A Coast Guard vessel located and rescued the 78-year-old man off the coast of Mades Bay and transported him to the port of Linoperamata. From there, he was taken to the General Hospital of Heraklion, where he was pronounced dead. The First Port Police Station of Linoperamata, part of the Central Port Authority of Heraklion, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, ordered a postmortem examination at the Laboratory of Forensic Sciences at the University of Crete.”
