’Overwhelming stench’ in popular Greek city sent tourists fleeing

An “overwhelming stench” in this popular Greek city has sent tourists fleeing in droves, as they refuse to dine outdoors.

Millions of dead fish have washed up along the shore of a scenic Greek city and it reeks so bad tourists are refusing to eat out.

Recent images from Volos, in central Greek region Thessaly, show floating carcasses creating a silvery blanket across the port.

Millions of fish piling up on the picturesque harbour has put off tourists from eating. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

Dead fish seen floating in the waters of the port of Volos, central Greece, on August 28. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

The stench was so alarming that locals and authorities rushed to scoop the fish away earlier today before it got to tourist hotspots.

Trawlers were deployed to collect over 40 tonnes of the dead fish before dumping them into the back of their trucks.

But restaurants have already taken a hit with the smell of the rotting fish so pungent and the sight so repulsive that nobody wants to visit.

Workers remove dead fish from the waters of the port of Volos. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

People take pictures of dead fish floating. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

Local outlet Neos Kosmos added that tourists are no longer enjoying a coffee at the harbour, where the thick blanket of fish has formed.

Dimosthenis Bakoyiannis, 33, who owns a beach restaurant 10km away from Volos, says his turnover dropped a staggering 80 per cent this European summer.

Fish littered the otherwise picturesque harbour in Volos, central Greece. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

“Closing the barrier now doesn’t help. Now it’s too late, the tourist season is over,” he said.

It’s thought that the fish, whose breed is unspecified, were displaced from their usual freshwater habitats during last year’s flooding.

Even Volos mayor Achilleas Beos admitted the smell was unbearable.

He also blamed the Greek government for not dealing with the flooding problem before it reached his city.

He stressed that rotting fish could create an environmental disaster for other species in the area.

The mayor moaned that stench was horrendout. Picture: EPA/Nikos Chatzipolitis

It’s driven tourists out of the city. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

Workers operate a mobile crane to remove dead fish floating from the Xiria River near Volos, central Greece, on August 28. Picture: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

Experts claim the problem was caused by last year’s floods that submerged Thessaly further north, including rivers and lakes.

They think a net not being placed at the mouth of the river leading into Volos meant saltwater killed the fish when they met the sea.

Mayor Beos added: “They [the government] didn’t do the obvious, add a protective net.”

City council member Stelios Limnios explained that the dead dish problem “spanned kilometres”.

“It’s not just along the coast, but also in the centre of the Pagasetic Gulf”, he said, referring to the area below Volos whose coast is lined with holiday homes.

Prosecutors have ordered an investigation.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission