Famous Navagio beach, the Zakynthos shipwreck, was opened to public again, a week after a rockfall on the left side of the shipwreck forced its closure.
The opening of the shipwreck beach is under certain restrictions though.
According to state broadcaster ERT, the port authorities lifted the ban on Zakynthos shipwreck beach on Saturday morning. They touristic boats to approach and anchor only in front of the shipwreck area and not at the sides.
Coast Guard boats and coast guard officers at the beach are to safeguard that the restrictions are kept for the visitors’ protection, ERT reporter on Zakynthos said.
Red Line: Area of forbidden access – Yellow Line: Area of limited access
This is a provisional decision by the Zakynthos port authorities after teams of scientists teams concluded inspection works and are awaiting the final evaluation results.
Scientists have recommended the lifting of the ban and re-opening of just a certain part of Zakynthos shipwreck beach and under the precondition of a controlled number of visitors.
According to President of Earthquake Prevention and Protection Organization Efthimios Lekkas who lead the inspection teams the findings are:
A. Upper part of the slopes: In the upper part of the slopes, the risk of rock steepness and retreat is small. It is therefore appropriate to lift a visitor’s ban on entry and stay. It goes without saying that this particular area should be sufficiently marked upstream of the slope to avoid accidents.
It is noted that the conditions of stay, hygiene and visitors’ service are unacceptable and need to be improved immediately.
B. Lower section of the slope – Coastal zone: The lower part of the slopes – coastal zone is characterized by a high degree of risk of collapse, rockfall, collapse and high vulnerability.
Visitors’ disembarkation and stay on the beach pose a high degree of risk, so it is advisable to keep the ban.
Until a detailed scientific analysis of the existing situation is carried out, only a small section of a parallelogram defined by the shipwreck and the coastline could be allowed, disembarkation for a limited time and a strict limit on the number of visitors.
On 13. September a massive sheet of rocks detached on the left side of the shipwreck beach overturned boats with visitors, injured a few and shocked the hundreds of tourists enjoying the sun, the water and the Navagio. Some of them narrowly escaped death.
Locals have been urging local, regional and central government authorities for years to take measures to protect the visitors and the landscape of spectacular beauty from the alarming increase of visitors each summer.
The video Rockfall at Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach in Zakynthos, prepared by the EDCM postgraduates team at the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens. Researchers used a UAV to captured the area and conclude to the best protection measures.
PS KTG understands that also the view platform may have opened to public as the risk is low, however, better check with local authorities and travel agents.
