An 82-year-old pensioner has died after a fight over sunloungers on a beach in Greece. The victim collapsed at Vouliagmeni beach, near Athens, after a row erupted with a 76-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman.
Argument over six sunbeds turns physical
The argument over six sunbeds turned physical when the pensioner allegedly punched the young woman. The feud broke out after the pair bought tickets and picked out two loungers, only for the 82-year-old to insist his group had claimed the entire spot.
“There was chaos. I have never heard a woman's screams before. They were heard right down to the other end,” a witness told TA NEA. “We saw them beating a man, another man, a woman beating him, and then we see them giving him CPR. And all this for a deck chair and a chair.”
Collapse and hospital death
The 82-year-old, there with his wife, is believed to have gone into cardiac arrest. The man collapsed and reportedly received CPR and a defibrillator used on him before the ambulance arrived. He was then taken to hospital where he died.
“It seems that people who were with [the assailant] also participated,” ERT, the country’s state broadcaster, reported. “The 82-year-old was seriously injured and needed to be transferred by ambulance to Asklepieion hospital in Voula. Despite the efforts of doctors, at about 11am, the elderly man succumbed to his wounds.”
Arrests and investigation
A postmortem was ordered, and a 76-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman were arrested in connection with the incident. The man has since been charged with causing fatal bodily harm, Kathimerini newspaper reported. The resort manager was also detained by police for questioning. The woman was later released, with witnesses saying she had a bloodied and swollen face.
“The incident is under investigation,” said a source, describing the fight as unprecedented. “In Greece, disagreement is expressed vocally, with a lot of screaming and shouting, not in fistfights like this – especially between two elderly men. I think that’s why it is so shocking.”
Authorities said “all those” involved in the incident would appear before a magistrate. This comes after Greece’s financial and environmental ministries said in April that it would increase the number of “untouched beaches”, meaning that loungers, loud music, and watersports will be banned.
