An 8-year-old was safely recovered after a multi-agency rescue operation off Crete’s south coast.
A coordinated rescue operation unfolded Tuesday afternoon at Ligres Beach in southern Rethymno after an 8-year-old German boy drifted away from shore while floating on an inflatable swim ring.
The incident prompted an immediate response from the Hellenic Coast Guard’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC), which alerted the Coast Guard stations of Chora Sfakion, Agia Galini, and Kokkinos Pyrgos, triggering the area’s local emergency response plan.
The rescue effort involved a Coast Guard rescue vessel, a Frontex patrol boat, the passenger-tourist vessel Phoinikas, and a Coast Guard patrol unit operating from land.
The operation ended successfully when the crew of the Phoinikas located the child at sea, safely recovered him, and returned him to Ligres Beach.
According to the boy’s parents, the child was unharmed and did not require medical attention.
The Hellenic Coast Guard confirmed that the rescue concluded without injuries thanks to the rapid coordination of all responding units.
The incident serves as another reminder that inflatable swim rings and similar floating toys can quickly be carried offshore by wind and currents, particularly along Crete’s exposed southern coastline, where sea conditions can change rapidly.
