World

Greek hit by brutal heatwave as tourist found dead at Crete holiday hotspot


The body of a German tourist has been found dead on the Greek island of Crete.

The hiker, who is the sixth tourist to die in Greece this month, was found in a ravine less than two days after they went missing.

According to reports, the Greek fire brigade said the hiker – a 68-year-old man – was reported missing on Sunday but found on Monday morning.

Le Matin reported that the hiker’s body was in such a difficult-to-reach location that it initially had to be transported out of the area on foot by the rescue team because a helicopter was unable to land in the area.

The latest death of a tourist in Europe comes as the continent suffers through another heatwave which has seen temperatures rise above 40C, creating treacherous conditions.

Greece in particular has been hit by an unprecedented early heatwave that has caused the mercury to soar to 44C and 45C.

As a result of the extreme heat, tourist attractions have had to close in places such as Athens, Crete, and the Peloponnese peninsula.

Alongside the latest fatality, this summer has also seen the death of American tourist Toby Sheets on the island of Mathraki, TV presenter Michael Mosley on Symi, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist on the island of Samos, and an 80-year-old Belgian tourist near the Cretian city of Lato. These are just some of the tourists or visitors who have gone missing this summer.

The heatwave was so intense earlier this month that the UK’s Foreign Office updated its travel advice to put Greece on a red alert and warned Britons travelling to the country to take precautions.

Commenting on the heatwaves, Greek state TV meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos said: “In the 20th century, we never had a heatwave before June 19. We have had several in the 21st century.”

Whilst Greece suffers through an unprecedented heatwave, there are fears that this could only be a preview of much warmer summers to come. Earlier this month, weather expert Jim Dale said it was “entirely possible” that some parts of southern Europe could see 50C later this summer.

Mr Dale cautioned that 50C would be “an exceptional event”, but that if it were to occur it could happen in “places like southern Spain and Greece”.

He added: “Where it would originate from would be Egypt or Saudi Arabia where you get a south-easterly into Greece or out of Morocco or Algeria into southern Spain.”

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