A British tourist has died after he was struck by lightning while paddleboarding in the sea at a holiday resort in Greece, according to reports.
The unnamed 26-year-old was off the coast of Agia Agathi on the island of Rhodes Monday afternoon when the weather turned, a local news site said.
His girlfriend was said to be filming from the beach as other tourists and bathers called to him to get out the water.
While some Greek sources say he was in the sea on a stand-up paddleboard, others claim he was swimming.
According to Greek outlet Rodiaki, lightning struck the man at around 1.30pm and the emergency services were called to the scene.
The newspaper said a passer-by, named as a Brazilian footballer who plays for a local side, waded into the sea to pull the man back to shore.
Medics from nearby Archangelos health centre performed first aid on the man, but he later died.
A local man who stepped in to get the Brit out of the water told the site: ‘As soon as I got close to him, I saw that he was face down in the water and his face was bruised.
‘I immediately knew that every second counted and began to pull him to land.
‘I was afraid that the same thing might happen to me, since it was still raining, but I didn’t stop.’
A spokesperson for Port Authority of Rhodes confirmed the age of the man and that he was a British citizen, but added: ‘This is an active case so we cannot give more details at the moment.’
Rodiaki reported the authority was preparing to carry out a full investigation into the incident.
