Another tourist has been found dead on a Greek island and three more are missing amid a spate of casualties believed to be linked to soaring temperatures.
The tourist, who has been identified as a 55-year-old American by local media but not yet been named, was last seen on Tuesday. His body was found in the sea by a beachgoer near the port of Mathraki.
His death follows those of TV presenter and newspaper columnist Dr Michael Mosley, who was found dead on the island of Symi last Sunday five days after his wife reported him missing, and a 74-year-old Dutchman.
Mosley is believed to have died of heat exhaustion after going for a walk in a 40C heat.
The Dutchman was found dead by the fire service in Samos on Saturday.
Meanwhile, two French women aged 73 and 64 are also reported missing in Sikinos, a small island in the Aegean Sea, and searches are ongoing for another tourist in Amorgos.
Most of them were attempting hikes under the scorching sun as much of Greece saw record temperatures for the first week of June, reaching 43C (109F) in many areas of the country.
Meteorologists have noted it was the earliest heatwave – which for Greece means temperatures exceeding 38C for at least three days – on record.
Dimitris Kalatzis, who led the Samos search team, told Greek media that rescue missions were often made more difficult because foreign tourists go in search of tourist sites, unaware of the dangers of walking in the heat, and get lost.
On Friday, local authorities began searching for the two French tourists after one of them sent a distress message to the owner of the hotel where she was staying.
On the rugged island of Amorgos, an intense search is continuing for another American tourist, 59-year-old Albert Calibet, who went missing during a hike on the small island last week.
A former deputy with the LA Sheriff’s Department, Mr Calibet has been missing since Tuesday.
Mr Calibet had travelled to the island from Los Angeles. An experienced walker, he set off from the village of Aegiali in the north at around 7am for the port of Katapola, a path that normally takes around four hours by foot.
Calls to the two mobile phones he was carrying have gone unanswered.
“We’re almost on three days here,” his brother, Oliver Calibet, told Fox 11 TV last week. “There’s no water. I’m very distraught.”
Asked what he thought might have happened, a tearful Oliver said: “I don’t know. My hands are tied.”
A woman who runs a small shop said she sold him water and refreshments at around 11am. Sofia Liviaki told Greek television that the American drank a soft drink and bought a bottle of water to take with him for the walk.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Deputy Calibet’s family and friends and our hope is that we can bring him home safely,” said Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna.
While temperatures in Greece cooled this weekend, they are expected to rise above 30C all week, according to the Met Office. As temperatures reached 43C last week, authorities closed schools and the Acropolis in Athens, the country’s most visited site.
Earlier this month a 67-year-old Dutch tourist died of a heart attack while crossing the Mylon gorge in Crete and a 70-year-old French tourist collapsed and died while strolling on a deserted beach on the island.
Source Agencies
