A French couple who had alerted rescue services on Sunday that they were lost near the E4 hiking trail in the Falasarna to Palaiochora section in the prefecture of Chania, found their own way out to the coast and were taken back to Palaiochora. From there they returned to their hotel in Apokoronas on Sunday afternoon using public transport.
However, the search for them, involving a large number of emergency rescue staff, continued through the night till Monday morning when the couple eventually notified the emergency services, thus wasting a great deal of resources that could have been needed elsewhere.
As a result, local press reports, the directorate of regional rescue services is considering the possibility of introducing charges for certain kinds of rescue operations.
YXxamonakis – Edited for Apokoronas News
