Navajo Beach on Zakynthos, one of the most popular in Greece, will be closed during this year’s tourist season for security reasons, the Greek Ministry of Tourism announced.
The inspection found that there is a high risk of landslides on the beach surrounded by cliffs.
The relevant Ministry states that the danger of landslides is a consequence of erosion along the edge of the beach, which lies below a 200-meter cliff and is only accessible by boat, reports AFP.
On this beach in 2018, seven people were injured, including a family of Czech tourists, when a huge board slid off the cliff.
Navajo Beach, whose name means shipwreck, is considered one of the most popular in Greece.
It got its name from the remains of a cargo ship that was shipwrecked there and became a trademark of the beach.
The ship “Panajotis” ran aground on the beach in October 1980. The circumstances of the shipwreck are unknown, but there are countless stories about the event.
Many claim that the ship from Yugoslavia, Turkey or Albania smuggled tobacco, alcohol and, according to some stories, people. According to the stories, the ship ran aground in the bay during one of its smuggling trips.
According to the captain’s story, the ship was returning from the Albanian port of Durrës, and due to a storm and a malfunction, it ran aground on the beach in Navaljo Bay.
The captain did not reveal what the ship was carrying, but after the shipwreck the court ordered him to remove the wreckage at his own expense, which he did not do.
Since then, the ship and the beautiful beach “magnet” for tourists have rusted.
(Srna)