A 26-year-old man who was trapped near the Dimitrios II shipwreck in Chlorakas was rescued on Tuesday by the Paphos port police, the force said on Wednesday.

According to Paphos police spokesperson Michalis Nicolaou, a lifeguard alerted authorities after noticing a mobile phone that was swept away by a wave on the beach in front of the shipwreck and realising there was a man in need of help at large, as rough sea was preventing him to get back ashore.

A coast guard patrol was immediately dispatched to rescue the man who had used a plastic dinghy to reach the shipwreck to take pictures.

The Dimitrios II shipwreck was a cargo ship made in Germany that sank about 500 metres from the coast of Chlorakas, on March 23, 1998. Since then it has become a tourist attraction, particularly among scuba divers.