Greece missing tourists latest: Four more dead and two missing in extreme heat after Michael Mosley tragedy

Temperatures in many parts of Greece are expected to peak in the mid to high 30s this week, as searches continue for tourists who have gone missing while walking.

In Rhodes, the mercury will hit 36C this week, according to the Met Office.

While falling from the highs of 44C seen on Thursday, Crete is expected to see highs of 30C and 31C on Monday and Tuesday, before falling some later in the week.

Santorini, close to Sikinos, where rescuers are searching for two French women missing since Friday, will see temperatures hit close to 30C over the coming days.

Radek Nowak, active product manager for Intrepid Travel – an agency that specialises in walking holidays, said they have had to adapt trips according to the heat: “The soaring summer temperatures in Europe are certainly making it more challenging for people to do more active holidays.”

Intrepid no longer runs hiking trips in Spain and Portugal during the hottest months of July and August. Winter trips have been added instead in countries such as Greece and Croatia.

Radek added: “When groups are doing walks or hikes in the warm weather, we plan our days around the weather, heading out early in the morning before the heat reaches its peak.”

“Michael’s death has moved so many of us,” Van Tulleken said, introducing the programme.

“His legacy is going to live on in our memories, every time we brush our teeth standing on one leg, we fast a little longer between meals, we build up our strength with squats or do any one of the other hundreds of tricks that he taught us.”

Common symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• A headache
• Dizziness and confusion
• Loss of appetite and feeling sick
• Excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
• Cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
• Fast breathing or pulse
• A high temperature of 38C or above
• Extreme thirst

Greece is on the frontline in the world’s battle against climate change, being hit by extreme heat and flooding in the space of just a few weeks last year.

It recorded its longest heatwave on record, lasting 16 days, in July 2023. The high temperatures fuelled wildfires across the country that saw locals and tourists evacuated.

The minister responsible for civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said the last week has posed a particular wildfire risk due to the combination of high temperatures and winds. “The early start of the heatwaves, combined with the dry winter, has led to a very difficult fire season,” he said.

A total of 44 agricultural fires were reported by the fire service on Thursday alone. None are believed to be serious at this point.

The idea of something going wrong on holiday isn’t something many of us want to contemplate. But sometimes it can happen. A holiday is often among the biggest “one-off” expenses of the year and when you’re booking it’s important to make sure you’re adequately covered, should the worst happen:

Dr Mohit Mandiratta, resident GP on BBC Breakfast, has warned of the complications even the healthiest people can face in the heat. He told The Independent: “Heat can affect anyone, including fit and healthy people, and be very serious if not treated immediately.

“It can come on quickly, over minutes, or gradually over hours, so it’s important we all stay alert to symptoms.”

Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that occurs when your core body temperature reaches 40C or higher and must be treated immediately.

Retired US police officer Eric Calibet disappeared while out on a solo hike on the island of Amorgos in the southeast of the country on Tuesday afternoon, reports Rich Booth.

Mr Calibet, 59, knew the area well having been visiting the island almost every year for about a decade.

He left for a four-hour hike, from Aegiali to Katapola around 7am.

“We’re almost on three days here,” his brother Oliver Calibet told Fox 11 TV in Los Angeles. “There’s no water … I’m very distraught.”

Two people have died from heatstroke in Cyprus, while others are fighting for their life in hospital, health officials have said.

On Friday, an elderly person died from heatstroke after the weeklong heatwave with reportedly record temperatures for the month of June, with temperatures in excess of 40C.

An 84-year-old woman died a day after her admission to a hospital on Friday, said State Health Services Organisation spokesman Charalambos Charilaou. He said another three elderly patients were in serious condition.

A missing Dutch tourist was found dead early on Saturday on the eastern Greek island of Samos, local media reported – among the latest in a string of cases in which tourists on Greek islands have died or gone missing. Some, if not all, had set out on hikes in blistering hot temperatures.

The body of the 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a Fire Service drone lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters (330 yards) from the spot where he was last observed on Sunday, walking with some difficulty in the blistering heat.