Greece is suffering this month from unusual temperatures for the month of June, and a heavy heat wave that reached it relatively early in the season. In recent days during this heavy heat load, the bodies of several foreign tourists were discovered, after they went for a walk in the Ionian islands, where temperatures soared to more than 40°C (104°F). Other tourists remain missing.
On Sunday, the body of a 55-year-old American tourist was found by another tourist on a remote beach on the island of Mathraki, west of Corfu. The 55-year-old tourist was staying with a Greek-American friend, who reported his friend missing on Thursday.
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The body of Dr. Michael Moseley , a British TV presenter, was found on the Greek island of Symi
(Photo: Panormitis Chatzigiannakis/REuters)
The American tourist was last seen on Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two other tourists, who have since left the island. Only about 100 residents live in Mathraki, a forested island with an area of 3.9 square kilometers.
On Saturday, the body of a 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found on the island of Samos. The body was discovered by a drone of the local fire services, located in a valley 300 meters from the place where the tourist was last seen early last week, when he went for a walk in the heat.
Ten days ago, the body of Dr. Michael Moseley , a British TV presenter, was found on the Greek island of Symi. An autopsy determined that he died four days before his body was found, when he went for a walk on a rocky path. It is believed that he fell while walking on a steep slope.
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British TV presenter Dr. Michael Moseleyseen leaving his hotel, he was later found dead
(Photo: Handout via REUTERS )
On Friday, it was reported that two French tourists, ages 64 and 73, had disappeared on the island of Sikinos - one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, where less than 400 inhabitants live. The tourists disappeared after leaving the hotels they were staying in to meet each other.
On another Cyclades island, Amorgos, authorities are still searching for a 59-year-old tourist who disappeared on Tuesday while hiking alone during heavy rain. American media reported that the name of that tourist is a 59-year-old retired police officer from California.
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Tourists suffer from the heat at the Acropolis, a tourist site that was later closed due to the heat
(Photo: Louiza Vradi/Reuters)
Last week, Greece temporarily closed the entrance to a number of popular archaeological sites, including the Acropolis in Athens, and prevented tourists from visiting the sites between noon and 5 p.m. - peak heat hours. In the center of Athens last week the temperatures reached 42°C (107.6°F), and in Crete the temperatures climbed to 44.5°C (112.1°F). At the beginning of the month, on June 5, the bodies of two travelers were found in Crete.
Due to the heat wave, the authorities issued health hazard warnings, and elementary schools and kindergartens were closed.