A 52-year-old Italian tourist was seriously injured on the Greek island of Skiathos after being thrown to the ground by jet turbine wash as an aircraft took off from the island's airport, state broadcaster ERT reported.
The woman sustained serious head injuries in the incident, which occurred near a road running close to the airport's runway threshold — a spot where tourists commonly gather to watch planes take off at close range, a practice similar to that seen near St. Maarten's Princess Juliana Airport in the Caribbean.
She was initially taken to Skiathos's Polyiatreio medical center, where she underwent a CT scan.
Doctors subsequently ordered her airlifted to Volos General Hospital for further treatment.
The incident renews scrutiny of the practice of tourists standing near Skiathos's runway to watch aircraft departures, a popular but hazardous activity at the small island airport, where the proximity of public roads to the runway has previously raised safety concerns.