Heatwave havoc: Greece faces rising toll of missing tourists
Greece's heatwaves have reached a critical level. Almost every day, emergency services find more victims of the extremely high temperatures. Tourists venture out on trails and disappear without a trace.
A missing Dutch tourist was found dead early Saturday morning on the Greek island of Samos. Most of these accidents and disappearances in Greece are consequences of solo hikes in extremely high heat.
A fire department drone found the body of a 74-year-old tourist in a gorge, about 300 meters from where he was last seen on Sunday, struggling to walk in the heat.
Missing tourists
Greek authorities are still searching for four people who have been missing over the past few days.
On Friday, two French tourists were reported missing on Sikinos, a secluded island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, which has barely 400 inhabitants. Both women, aged 73 and 64, left their hotels to meet each other.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a hotel owner reported a 70-year-old American tourist missing on the small island of Mathraki at the northwestern tip of Greece. According to media reports, strong winds prevented the police and fire department from reaching the island to start searching for the missing person.
On the island of Amorgos, authorities are still searching for a 59-year-old tourist who was reported missing on Tuesday after he went on a solo hike on a very hot day.
Dr Michael Mosley, a well-known British TV presenter and author, was found dead last Sunday on the island of Symi.
Extreme heat
The media are informing tourists about the dangers of hiking in the heat. Temperatures across Greece on Saturday were over 10 degrees Celsius lower than Thursday when they reached almost 45 degrees Celsius. They are expected to rise again starting Sunday.
Recall: The authorities in Greece announced a "small lockdown". Some people switched to remote work, and some schools were closed on Wednesday and Thursday, June 12 and 13. Due to the heat, the Acropolis in Athens was closed to visitors for nearly half a day.
