The heat wave that has gripped Greece this month continued to take its toll over the weekend, with authorities reporting on Sunday that an American had died on a Greek island. At least five tourists are missing across Greece.
The body of a 55-year-old man from Flora Park, New York, who had been missing since Tuesday on the small island of Materaki near Corfu, was found on a beach on Sunday, authorities said.
The day before, the body of a man was found on the island of Samos. A Dutch hiker has been missing there for a week, but his body has yet to be identified.
The search is also underway for five more tourists who went missing due to sweltering heat across Greece this month.
“The problem of missing hikers is not new, we encounter it every year,” said police spokesperson Constantina Dimoglidou. “But this year, more people seem to be getting lost in the heat.”
One of the missing is 59-year-old Albert Calibet, a retired police officer with dual French and American citizenship on the Aegean island of Amorgos. Ms. Dimoglidu said Mr. Kalibet set out on a long walk alone on Tuesday morning.
Also missing are two French women, aged 73 and 64, who disappeared on Sikinos, another island in the Aegean Sea. Authorities said an Israeli couple was in the Vitina region of the Peloponnese.
The announcement comes just days after the body of British medical journalist and documentary maker Michael Mosley was discovered on the island of Symi after he failed to return from a walk. This month, at least three other tourists died while out walking during the sweltering heat.
Greece has experienced two heat waves in the past two weeks, causing temperatures to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius) in many parts of the country. However, while authorities typically warn older adults and people with health conditions to stay indoors and stay hydrated on days when extreme heat is expected, these are guidelines rather than rules, and there are no restrictions on activities such as hiking.
The Long Island man’s body was found Sunday afternoon on a small beach near the port on the west side of Materaki, a community of only a few hundred people, said Spiros Argyros, the island’s deputy mayor. Inhabited island.
“He was found in the surf on the beach and the location has been searched, so it appears he was washed out to sea within the last 24 hours,” Mr Argyros said.
The deputy mayor said the man was last seen on Tuesday night having a drink with two British women who drove him to his rented house. On Thursday, a friend called police after finding the door to the home open and the lights and air conditioner on. Agyros said the body was being transferred to Corfu for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
According to local officials, Kalibet, a retired police officer, had been visiting Amorgos for years and knew the hiking trails well, and they thought he might have chosen a more challenging route. He told friends that his planned hike would be 12 miles south to Katapola, an established walking route.
“He has walked this road many times,” said Calliope Despotidi, the deputy mayor of Amorgos. “He probably took a harder line and maybe overestimated his abilities. It was hot.
Despotiti said that a few hours after setting off from the village of Egiali in the north of the island, Kalibet stopped at a convenience store to buy water and other necessities, but “there was no sign of him again.” “. Helicopters, drones and Coast Guard vessels have been searching for him on the island since Tuesday afternoon, she said.
A Greek firefighting drone has discovered the body of a man found on the island of Samos in a creek. A 74-year-old Dutch hiker has been missing on the island since Sunday.
Dimitris Kalaitzis, a member of the local branch of the Greek rescue team, said the Dutch man was believed to have had a “difficult” walk in southwestern Samos. According to the man’s wife, he only had a small bottle of water with him when he set out, Kalaizis said.
Dimoglidou said on Wednesday that the Dutch tourist’s phone was switched off.
Sikinos Mayor Vasilis Malakis told Greek television on Saturday that the search for the two French women had begun on Friday.
“They were out for a walk yesterday in the hot weather,” he said, “and now we can’t find them.”
Malakis, who was involved in the search, told Greek television on Saturday that one of the men’s phone was switched off and the other did not have it with him.
At 8:24 a.m. on Friday, one of the women texted the owner of the room where she was staying: “I fell. I don’t feel good,” Mr. Malakis said.
After a five-day search, the body of Mr Mosley, a 67-year-old British medical journalist, was found on rocks next to Agia Marina beach on the island of Symi on June 9. His wife, Clare Bailey, reported him missing, a day after the couple arrived for a week-long stay, according to a police spokesman. He walked over what local officials described as “rugged terrain” because of the high temperatures It has been hovering around 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
An 80-year-old Belgian man who was traveling with a group of people died on Friday near the ancient ruins of Lato in eastern Crete, according to a police spokesman. Earlier this month, two other tourists – a 70-year-old French woman and a Dutch man, also 70 – also died while hiking in different parts of Crete, Ms. Dimolido said.
As recent heatwaves peaked on Wednesday and Thursday, authorities closed many schools in Athens and restricted visiting hours at several ancient sites, including Greece’s most popular Acropolis.
Normal visiting hours at the Acropolis resumed on Friday as temperatures dropped slightly, but restrictions remained in place at the ancient site of Knossos in Crete, where temperatures were expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Greece’s Culture Ministry said that if the temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, Crete’s attractions will be closed from 1 to 5 p.m.