A boulder on the only road to the beach

On Thursday, 15 October, a huge block of stone broke away from a slope near Ladiko on Rhodes and came to rest on the road that leads to Anthony Quinn Bay, one of the island's best-known and busiest beaches. Reports say the fall damaged the road surface and cut off the only route in. The bay is named after the Hollywood actor Anthony Quinn, who filmed the 1961 war film The Guns of Navarone there, playing the giant Andrea Stavros. Greek reports say no vehicles or pedestrians were passing the spot when the rock came down, so no injuries were reported.

Who was stuck

The state news agency ANA reported that dozens of people and about 100 vehicles were blocked on the beach for hours. NewsIT gave a higher count of about 250 people in the area, mostly tourists and staff of businesses operating on the beach, and said about 100 vehicles remained parked there. The coverage does not reconcile the two counts. Mediafax and 7sur7 wrote that the fall also destroyed vehicles, while the Greek reports describe damage to the road only.

Civil protection response

Civil protection officials were deployed to the site, and heavy machinery was brought to the area to clear the rock. Michalis Thomatos, deputy mayor for civil protection of Rhodes, said the civil protection mechanism was fully mobilized, with citizens' safety as the first priority and the fastest possible restoration of traffic second. Before any work starts, technical services must assess the slope to confirm there is no risk of further rocks breaking away, and the fire service was to assess the situation and decide the safest way to remove the boulder. Officials said the people on the beach face no immediate danger but the situation is being watched closely. NewsIT reported that the roughly 250 people there must be able to leave safely before nightfall, and the Rhodes municipality and the South Aegean Region are coordinating the checks, the removal and the restoration of access.

Partial access and the wider storm

Partial access to the beach was restored on Friday, 16 October, according to Mediafax and 7sur7. The coverage does not give a date for full restoration. The rockfall came in the middle of severe weather: Mediafax reported that flooding on Wednesday, 14 October, had already killed a 62-year-old hotel employee whose car was swept into the sea on Rhodes. Greek reports described the island as still counting the damage from deadly storms.