An Italian tourist trying to take a photograph apparently slipped on a rockpile and was killed by a dislodged rock on the Greek island of Mykonos Wednesday. The victim, Giovanni Lambroni, 63, was from Genoa, Italy. The owners of a construction site have been cited for safety violations, but see the comments below for a stated eyewitness account of the aftermath of the accident.
Details about the deceased are slim, so I don't know if he was a professional photographer or not, or how much getting that photograph meant to him. Mykonos is a beautiful island and the temptations for a photographer are numerous.
Speaking from my own experience (falling backwards onto a rock while taking a photograph at Mycenae, taking a half step into thin air off of a rooftop at Knossos while videotaping, sliding downhill after scrambling over rocks to reach the mouth of a cave to take a photograph, tipping over a kayak reaching for my camera in the drybag, etc. etc. etc.) - I have to admit I'm as prone to the tourist disease of "Ignore the surroundings, get the photograph!" as anyone. But the landscape of Greece - or anywhere - can be challenging, and accidents like this one can happen.
- Not naturally sure footed? Bring a hiking pole (packed in your checked luggage). Some can double as a monopod.
- Doing serious sightseeing? Wear good shoes - you know the kind - those embarassing clunky ones which you have to wear on the plane because you have no more room in your luggage. (Hint - wear good clean socks, take off your shoes on the plane, and use them as a footrest. Comfy!)
- Look around. Yes, it's great to have a memorable photograph, but taking a deep breath and truly observing your surroundings in Greece can give you incredible memories - and you might not have to scramble up that lightpole to shoot a photo after all.
More on Photography in Greece
Bad choice of words for the title to your article. It sounds menacing or that violence was involved. I love Myconos and I too have put myself in danger taking some of the best photos of my life. I couldn’t imagine a Greek hurting anyone visiting the island. I love the Greek people so much I married one 49 years ago and I love heer to this day.
Hi , I happened to be driving past with friends on scooters and saw this poor man under the rock.
The 2 Italian friends stopped 200metres or so from the lighthouse on their own scooters, on the top of the hill.
It was a small row of rocks from a knocked down dwelling.
It’s hard to explain how the rocks were but a child could be playing on them easily and a parent would think nothing of it.
This was a freak accident at its best.
I googled keywords to see if I could find out his name , and instead I found a police statement to the newspapers that is just ridiculous.
It was not a steep rockpile at all. Maybe the police exaggerated the location to cover up their own guilt and incompetence by taking 1 hr and a half to reach the Lighthouse. We had called every single person on the island that we knew.. along with police ambulance hospital EVERYONE. Interestingly enough, when the Mykonian police decided to actually come to the scene and saw the sadness of the situation, it only took 5minutes for the ambulance and the machine that lifted the rock off the man to arrive.
At this point it was obvious there was no chance that he would still be alive.
One has to wonder, if the machine had arrived 5 min from our first phonecall whether this man would be alive today ?
My heart still goes out to the family of this man, especially the woman that was with him at the time of the accident. I wish I could find her name so I could see how she’s going. This was a very sad and preventable death.