A tourist has been severely injured after being thrown to the ground by the force of a plane engine.
A 52-year-old Italian woman sustained severe injuries at Greece's Skiathos International Airport after being hurled to the ground by the powerful blast from a departing aircraft's engines.
The tourist had been standing behind a passenger plane as it prepared for takeoff when the force of the jet engines sent her crashing to the tarmac near the airport's perimeter fence.
She is understood to have struck her head during the fall.
The woman was airlifted to Volos General Hospital for further medical treatment.
The airlift took place shortly after 6pm local time.
Prior to the airlift, emergency responders initially took the woman to the Skiathos Health Centre.
She had undergone a CT scan to assess the extent of her injuries.
According to local officials, the woman had been positioned near the fence marking the airport's perimeter when the plane began its departure.
Local authorities have since opened an investigation to establish how the tourist came to be in such close proximity to the aircraft as it was taking off.
Jet engine blasts produce extremely high-velocity streams of air, capable of propelling bystanders several metres backwards, and are frequently visible as large plumes of exhaust.
In 2017, a tourist was killed after being blown onto rocks by the blast from a departing plane's engines.
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A year later, a British schoolboy was also thrown to the ground in a similar fashion by jet exhaust at the same location.
Warning signs have since been erected around the airport's perimeter to alert visitors to the dangers of standing too close to aircraft during takeoff.
The airport has gained notoriety among plane-spotting enthusiasts, who flock to the adjacent beach to watch aircraft descend at remarkably low altitudes before landing.
Many thrill-seekers also gather directly behind departing planes, separated from the runway only by a perimeter fence.
Skiathos Alexandros Airport has earned a reputation as one of the most challenging airfields in the world, recently being ranked the worst airport globally owing to its location.
Todd Smith, co-founder of Safe Landing and a former Thomas Cook pilot with multiple flights into Skiathos, previously told The Sun: "It's certainly a tricky landing. We have to land quite hard and we have to use a lot of braking which wears the brakes out and is uncomfortable for passengers."
The airport's short runway means pilots frequently need to apply maximum thrust during takeoff.
Mr Smith added: "We don't often take off with full power but Skiathos is an airport where it is likely for us to opt for this."
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