An 82-year-old holidaymaker who died following a dispute over sun loungers on a Greek beach had reportedly declined to free up any of the six beds occupied by his group.
The pensioner suffered a cardiac arrest after an altercation with a 76-year-old man in Vouliagmeni, a coastal resort south of Athens, on Sunday.
Greek newspaper ProtoThema reported that the 76-year-old was detained on suspicion of causing fatal bodily harm and is due to appear in court on Monday.
A 21-year-old disabled woman who was with him was also arrested. She is accused of involvement in the confrontation, as well as making threats and using verbal abuse, according to the report.
The confrontation began shortly after 9am, when the 76-year-old and his companion returned from a swim and went back onto the beach in search of loungers.
Once they had bought their tickets, they selected two sunbeds.
The 82-year-old was reportedly sitting nearby with his wife and told the pair that the area belonged to his group, with all six sunbeds already occupied.
A physical confrontation followed. The elderly man went into cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at Asklepieion Hospital in Voula.
File image of sunbeds at the Greek beach where the dispute occurred
Witnesses said the fight became bloody as the two older men grappled on the beach.
One beachgoer described the scene as so turbulent that the shouting and screams carried across the sand.
However, accounts differ over exactly how the physical confrontation began.
An acquaintance of the 76-year-old told ProtoThema: “My friend went to find the sunbeds while I was buying a ticket.
“He argued with the 82-year-old, who said, ‘Do you know who I am? I’m from the navy.’ My friend was injured, and so was the 21-year-old woman who was with him.”
Another witness said: “We heard people shouting and ran over to see what was happening. There was a fight, and the beach workers were the first to arrive.
“It was complete chaos. I have never heard screams like that before.”
Speaking to Greek broadcaster MEGA TV, the 76-year-old claimed he had gone to choose sunbeds with the young woman when the 82-year-old allegedly told her: “Put them down, you f***ing b***h.”
He alleged that the pensioner then struck her several times, with the two sides continuing to exchange insults.
According to his account, the older man shouted, “Leave the sunbed here!” The woman replied: “I’m not leaving it.”
“He turned around and hit me as well. I told him, ‘You’re hitting women, you lowlife.’ He was the one who hit me,” the 76-year-old said.
Amid the argument, the 21-year-old woman is believed to have been taken to the beach clinic by her older companion, who then returned to the scene to continue the brawl.
Witnesses told Ta Nea daily newspaper that she had a bloodied and swollen face.
During the brawl, the 82-year-old suffered a heart attack.
A doctor and two lifeguards took him to the beach clinic, where a defibrillator was used on him and he received CPR four times before an ambulance arrived, reports said.
The man was taken to Asklepieion Hospital in Voula, where he died an hour later.
Speaking to Greek television channels, the 82-year-old man’s wife said: ‘My husband died over something stupid on an empty beach.’
Describing the incident, she added: ‘Suddenly, even though the beach was empty, a couple wanted to take our sunbeds.
‘When we pointed out that there were plenty of vacant sunbeds and chairs, the man – who is now in custody – attacked my husband, punching him in the nose and the chest.
‘He fell to the ground.’
File photo shows Vouliagmeni, a town 16 miles south of Athens where the fight occurred
Sunbed wars have escalated across Europe in recent years as tourists vie for the best spots.
Last year it was reported British tourists had taken matters to new heights as pictures showed some sleeping on loungers overnight to reserve the best poolside positions.
In May a German holidaymaker successfully sued his tour operator and received a £770 payout after he claimed his children were left lying on poolside concrete on a luxury Greek island.
In July, more than 100 tourists were filmed waiting in line for over an hour to secure poolside sunbeds at a hotel in Tenerife.
Nick Hughes, 49, from North Wales, was enjoying breakfast at the Paradise Park Hotel in Los Cristianos when he noticed guests beginning to gather behind a barrier near the pool at 7.45am.
The holidaymaker, who had travelled to the Canary Islands with his wife Joanne, 38, and their two sons, Finley, 10, and Ellis, seven, said the queue continued to grow over the next hour.
When staff removed the barrier at 9am on July 29, guests made their way towards the loungers, with some throwing towels onto empty sunbeds to claim their spots.
Nick, a contract catering operations manager, said: ‘I would estimate there were more than 100 people involved altogether.
‘The crowd seemed to approach from both directions and there were people of all ages.
‘It was much larger than I would ever have expected. Some people appeared to have been waiting for around an hour and fifteen minutes.’
He noted that he observed ‘individuals already in position’ at 7.45am, where they remained until the barrier was removed.
Nick continued: ‘That’s a significant amount of holiday time to spend queuing for a sunbed.
‘Before the barrier was opened, everyone seemed very relaxed and friendly. People were chatting, laughing and generally behaving as you would expect on holiday.
‘The moment the barrier came down, however, everything changed. What had been a calm queue suddenly became a sprint, with people rushing in all directions to secure their preferred spot.
‘The contrast between the calm atmosphere beforehand and the chaos afterwards was what made it so remarkable. I started filming because I genuinely thought it was funny.’
While he had heard plenty of stories from friends and family about the infamous sunbed dash at holiday resorts, Nick revealed he had never actually seen one for himself.
The father-of-two said: ‘This was the first hotel I’ve stayed in where I’ve actually seen such a large-scale rush happen in person. It was one of those things you almost don’t believe until you see it with your own eyes.
‘As I watched more people gathering, I realised this was likely to be one of those moments that people wouldn’t believe unless they saw it themselves.
‘I never expected the footage to attract so much attention afterwards.’
Nick noted how ‘surreal’ it was to watch more and more people gather, adding that he couldn’t help wondering how much of their holiday morning people were giving up just to grab a particular sunbed.
