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The “relentless” search for missing tourists in Greece has intensified as temperatures soar to dangerous heights in the region.
Greek locals have warned tourists not to underestimate the extreme heat as an American man became the fifth tourist to be found dead on Sunday.
At present search teams are scouring the islands of Sikinos and Amorgos for two French women and an American man who went missing last week.
The mayor of Sikinos said the search for the two French nationals , aged 73 and 64, “has intensified” after they went missing after embarking on a hike on Friday.
“We’ve been out all morning searching,” he said. “Volunteers have arrived from Santorini, firefighters, the police, a specially trained dog have all been looking, but the terrain is rocky and full of ravines. The effort has been huge, but the area where they disappeared is difficult and, sadly, we still haven’t found them.”
As search and rescue operations continue, locals have expressed their frustration at tourists hiking during the extreme weather.
Daphne Tolis, 44, told the i that tourists “underestimate and do not know the intensity of the heat” and added: “[We] often see tourists going out hiking or on a bike ride in the middle of the day, when most Greek people know not to do any physical exercise.”
Have you been affected by this? Email barney.davis.ind@independent.co.uk
American tourist found dead as death toll rises
A 55-year-old American has been found dead on the Greek island of Mathraki, the police said on Monday, the fifth tourist death in recent weeks following a period of unusually hot weather.
Police did not share the identity of the dead American, whose body was found near a beach on Mathraki on Sunday. He was transferred to the island of Corfu where an autopsy will be carried out, a police official told Reuters.
A 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found dead on the island of Samos on Saturday and two hikers were found dead on Crete on June 5.Rescue teams were also searching for two French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos, and a 59-year-old US policeman on Amorgos.
Temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) earlier this month, just as the holiday season began across Greece’s remote beaches, ancient sites and mountain trails.
“There is a common pattern – they all went for a hike amid high temperatures,” Petros Vassilakis, the police spokesman for the Southern Aegean, told Reuters.
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 07:30
“Relentless” search for missing tourists intensifies
The “relentless” search for missing tourists in Greece has intensified as temperatures soar to dangerous heights in the region.
At present search teams are scouring the islands of Sikinos and Amorgos for two French women and an American man who went missing last week.
The mayor of Sikinos said the search for the two French nationals , aged 73 and 64, “has intensified” after they went missing after embarking on a hike on Friday.
“We’ve been out all morning searching,” Vassilis Marakis said. “Volunteers have arrived from Santorini, firefighters, the police, a specially trained dog have all been looking, but the terrain is rocky and full of ravines. The effort has been huge, but the area where they disappeared is difficult and, sadly, we still haven’t found them.”
He added: “It was extremely hot on Friday, the day they went missing.
“We had heard about such incidents happening on other islands and now it’s happened here. Yesterday, we even had a coastguard boat patrolling our island’s coast. I won’t hide that I am very worried.”
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 11:47
Wildfire threat as temperature soar
As temperatures in Greece soar to dangerous heights earlier in the year than usual, officials are concerned they could see a repeat of last year’s wildfires in the region.
The minister responsible for civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said: “The early start of the heatwaves, combined with the dry winter, has led to a very difficult fire season. The fire service also warned of a very high wildfire threat.”
Greece was again at the center of Europe’s fire season last summer with the worst fire in European Union records. Fires burned an estimated 1,750 square kilometers (675 square miles) in 2023.
A total of 44 agricultural fires were reported by the fire service on Thursday alone. None are believed to be serious at this point.
![A local runs to avoid the flames of a wildfire in Gennadi village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on July 25, 2023](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/07/29/04/Greece_Wildfires_Photo_Gallery_59206.jpg)
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 10:59
Concern for what’s ahead as temperatures soar
Locals have expressed for what lies ahead as temperatures soar earlier than usual in Greece.
British expat Charli Day said that “stray animals are dropping dead” in the street as the exreme heat persists. The 44-year-old who lives in Cyprus said: “June is considered spring here, so we are a bit worried what we will get in August.
“We are hoping we won’t get power cuts from too many people using their AC – or water cuts. In some villages, they will cut the water every third day.”
![A person walks at the village of Rovinia on the island of Corfu](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/18/10/103A48F5000003E8.jpg)
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 10:00
French and US tourists among three missing
Greek authorities are searching for three tourists who went missing amid soaring temperatures after five holidaymakers were found dead in recent weeks.
Rescue teams were also searching for two French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos, and a 59-year-old US policeman Eric Albert Calibet on Amorgos. Known to friends as Albert – the policeman had been vacationing on the island but was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon.
Calibet left for the challenging four-hour hike, from Aegiali to Katapola around 7am, according to local outlets. The friend reported the disappearance to Amorgos police after he had not returned eight hours later. Authorities have not been able to contact Calibet via either of his two cell phones.
![Eric Calibet, 59, had been vacationing on the island but was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/12/21/Screenshot%202024-06-12%20at%204.22.54%E2%80%AFPM.jpg)
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 09:29
Weather today in Greece
Greece is continuing to battle with extreme heat as the popular holiday destination sees a string of deaths among tourists hiking in high temperatures.
In Athens, the Met Office has forecasted temperatures of 35C today as other islands reach similar temperatures.
The heat is alarming as June is considered Spring in the region and locals are concerned for what July and August may hold.
Last week, temperatures regularly soared above 40C with some temperatures reaching as high as 45C in some areas. Popular tourist destinations such as the Acropolis in Athens were closed as a result.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/17/13/SEI208471175.jpg)
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 09:08
Greek locals growing frustrated with hiking tourists
Greek locals are reportedly growing frustrated with tourists “underestimating” the extreme heat as five holidaymakers are confirmed dead.
A documentary filmmaker living in Greece told the i that tourists in Athens don’t know the intensity of the heat and said she often sees tourists hiking in temperatures that locals wouldn’t do exercise in.
“There is a sense of frustration among locals [at British tourists] but also they feel very sorry, very sad. They do not want [tourists’ deaths] to happen – it is also bad for them as a tourist destination,” she said.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/17/13/SEI208518413.jpg)
Athena Stavrou18 June 2024 08:21
Girlfriend of missing former sheriff hits out at responders
Eric Albert Calibet, 59 – known to friends as Albert – had been vacationing on the island but was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon.
Calibet left for the challenging four-hour hike, from Aegiali to Katapola around 7am, according to local outlets. The friend reported the disappearance to Amorgos police after he had not returned eight hours later. Authorities have not been able to contact Calibet via either of his two cell phones.
“I’m totally disgusted with the way we’ve been treated,” Debbie Leshane told The New York Post on Monday.
“Albert has been a first responder since he was 25 years old. Everybody deserves to be searched for. But he really, honestly deserves it,” Leshane said in a call from the island.
![Calibet, 59, had been vacationing on the island but was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/12/21/Screenshot%202024-06-12%20at%204.22.54%E2%80%AFPM.jpg)
Barney Davis18 June 2024 07:30
Toby Sheets won Breeders’ Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes as well as the Dubai World Cup under top horse trainer Asmussen
The Athens News Agency said that Toby Sheets was staying with a Greek-American friend on Mathraki. The body was transported to Corfu for an autopsy. An official cause of death had not been determined, according to the agency.
Sheets trained on his own from 1994-1999 and for a brief time in 2004 in which he won 46 races from 268 starts for purse earnings of $569,442. During his career under Asmussen, he was regularly placed in charge of the day-to-day operations for the trainer’s New York stable.
Barney Davis18 June 2024 06:30
Toby Sheets last seen in Taverna on isolated Greek island
The tourist had last been seen Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two female tourists who have since left the island.
Mathraki, which has a population of 100, is a 3.9-square-kilometer (1.2-square-mile) heavily wooded island, west of the better-known island of Corfu.
This was the latest in a string of recent cases in which tourists on the Greek islands have died or gone missing. Some, if not all, had set out on hikes in very hot temperatures.
A 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters (330 yards) from the spot where he was last observed last Sunday, walking with some difficulty in the blistering heat.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/06/17/23/mathraki.jpg)
Barney Davis18 June 2024 04:00