Deadly toll in Greece as heatwaves sweep the country
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Tourists shelter in the shade of a tree near a water fountain during high temperatures on Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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ATHENS – Heatwaves that have swept across Greece in June continued to exact a deadly toll over the weekend, with the authorities on June 16 reporting the death of an American on a Greek island. At least five tourists remain missing across Greece.
The authorities said that the body of a 55-year-old from Floral Park, New York, who had been missing on the small island of Mathraki near Corfu since June 11, was found on a beach on June 16.
That followed the discovery of a man’s body on the island of Samos the day before. A Dutch hiker has been missing there for a week, but the body has not yet been identified.
Searches were also under way for the five other tourists who have gone missing across Greece amid searing temperatures in June.
“The problem of missing hikers is not new – we have it every year,” said Ms Constantina Dimoglidou, a police spokeswoman. “But this year, it seems more people became disoriented during the heat wave.”
One of the missing was Mr Albert Calibet, 59, a retired police officer who is a dual citizen of France and the US, on the Aegean island of Amorgos. Mr Calibet had set out on a trek alone on June 11 morning, Ms Dimoglidou said.
Also missing were two Frenchwomen, ages 73 and 64, on another Aegean island, Sikinos, and an Israeli couple in the area of Vytina in the Peloponnese Peninsula, the authorities said.
The announcements came only days after the remains of Mr Michael Mosley, a British medical journalist and documentary maker, were found on the island of Symi after he failed to return from a walk.
At least three other tourists have died in June while out walking during the extreme heat.
Greece has experienced two back-to-back heatwaves over the past two weeks, bringing temperatures in excess of 38 deg C to many parts of the country.
Yet while the authorities typically issue warnings to older people and people with health problems to remain indoors and hydrated on days when extreme heat is forecast, those are guidelines rather than rules, and there are no restrictions on activities like hiking. NYTIMES
