- A 14-year-old German boy was rescued from the sea at Kokkini Hani on October 15.
- He was initially treated by EKAV medics and admitted to PAGNI’s ICU.
- Doctors confirm his condition is stable and his life out of danger.
- He remains under close medical supervision in the Pediatric Surgery ward.
There are moments when time freezes—the hum of the sea fades, the laughter on the beach turns to alarm, and all that remains is the desperate rhythm of rescue. Such was the scene at Kokkini Hani last Wednesday, when a 14-year-old boy from Germany was pulled unconscious from the waves.
He had reportedly fainted while swimming, an ordinary afternoon turning into a test of life and chance. Witnesses called emergency services in panic. Within minutes, an EKAV ambulance arrived, carrying a doctor and paramedics who fought to bring him back. Their effort paid off—the boy began responding, fragile yet alive.
Breath Back to Life
Doctors at the University Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI) acted quickly. Because the teenager suffers from a chronic health condition, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit as a precaution. There, in the quiet hum of machines and whispered hope, his body fought its way back to safety.
According to hospital director Giorgos Chalkiadakis, the young patient’s life is no longer at risk. “He is now in the Pediatric Surgery ward, under close observation,” he said, expressing relief at the outcome.
For the doctors, nurses, and rescuers who had witnessed those first desperate moments, his recovery feels nothing short of miraculous.
On Crete, the sea is a living thing—beautiful, unpredictable, and sometimes merciless. But on that October afternoon, it gave something back. The boy’s survival is a quiet victory for everyone who stood on that beach, waiting for him to breathe again.
As his family stays by his side at PAGNI, their gratitude echoes through the sterile hospital corridors and out toward the calm horizon of Kokkini Hani—where fear once stood, and hope now lives.
