Another tourist has died amid the scorching heatwave in Greece, the latest fatality in a country that has been hit by 44C temperatures and ravaged by forest fires.
The 67-year-old German was found dead in Crete, police said on Monday, the sixth death of a tourist since Mail columnist Dr Michael Mosley lost his life on another Aegean island earlier this month.
Like Dr. Mosley, the man had set out alone on a hike through a canyon in the Sougia region on Sunday. After a few hours, he called his wife to inform her that she was not feeling well.
“A search and rescue operation began immediately and a special drone rescue unit spotted (the body) of the man in Trypiti Canyon,” a police officer said.
There have been a series of tourist deaths and disappearances during the unusual June heatwave, with many of the victims disappearing while walking, highlighting the dangers of exposure to temperatures of 40C or more.
A local resident holds water bottles next to a forest fire in the village of Latas, southern Greece, on June 21, 2024.
People try to stay cool at the seashore in the coastal area of Arvanitia, Nafplio, Peloponnese, Greece, June 21, 2024.
Dr. Michael Mosley died on the Greek island of Symi on June 5. His body was found on June 9.
A frantic search is underway for former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Deputy Albert Calibet, who was last seen walking on the small island of Amorgos.
Rescue teams are still searching for two French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos.
A frantic search is also underway for retired Los Angeles police officer Albert Calibet, 59, who disappeared last Tuesday while vacationing on Amorgos Island.
A 55-year-old American was found dead on the Greek island of Mathraki in the Ionian Sea last week, and a Dutch tourist on the Aegean island of Samos earlier this month.
The body of British television presenter Dr Mosley was found in Symi on June 9 after a four-day search operation using planes, drones and boats. He had gone for a walk alone in high temperatures before disappearing.
It comes as large bushfires have raged across the country, which faces a “very high risk” of bushfires due to hot and dry conditions.
Greek firefighters said Monday they remained on high alert, fearing that sweltering temperatures and strong winds could reignite dozens of wildfires set over the weekend, ravaging nearly 9,000 acres of lush forests.
The warning comes as 13 crew members of a luxury superyacht face arraignment Wednesday to testify in connection with charges related to arson after shooting several rounds of fireworks over the popular resort island of Hydra on Friday. the night, causing a huge forest fire and destroying the only place on the island. Pine forest.
If intent is proven, according to judicial officials, the defendants (nine men and four women) could each face up to 20 years in prison and severe fines of 200,000 euros.
Smoke rises over a forest fire near a villa on the island of Andros in a photograph taken last week.
General view of a forest fire on the island of Hydra, Greece, June 21, 2024
The 13, all Greek, were charged on Sunday. They received a 48-hour extension to testify before a prosecutor in the port city of Piraeus on Wednesday. They remain in custody and authorities have seized the luxurious three-story, 176-foot-long Persefoni I.
Fire department officials leading the investigation said the fire started on Friday night when crew members set off an unknown number of firecrackers to entertain their guests, allegedly Kazakh nationals. His whereabouts remained unknown.
The prosecution of the crew members represents a litmus test for the center-right government and the strict legislation it introduced earlier this year after 20 people died last summer in a series of wildfires that devastated Greece, the worst in recent years. time.
Terrifying wildfire breaks out on Greek island after fireworks were launched from yacht
A view of a yacht (R) whose crew members allegedly started a forest fire with fireworks launched from the ship on the island of Hydra, at a marina in the southern suburb of Athens, Greece, June 23, 2024.
More than 300 stremmas (74 acres) of lush pine forest on Hydra were devastated by the fire set by the superyacht crew. in response to what he called the crew’s “reckless behavior.”
Since then, a total of 107 fires have devastated Greece, keeping several areas of the country, including its capital Athens, on “Code 3” alert.
On Monday authorities said they had managed to contain all the fires. But rising temperatures expected to exceed 38 degrees from Tuesday will push other regions into high-risk areas, officials said, including the island of Crete, a popular tourist destination among sun-seeking Britons.
Firefighters work to control a fire in Greece as the country faces a “very high risk” of wildfires
View of an area damaged by a forest fire on the island of Hydra, Greece, June 22, 2024
“We call for extreme vigilance,” said Vassilis Vathraoyiannis, a spokesman for Greece’s fire services. ‘Any level above level 3 means that reinforcements are available, ready to intervene in any potential crisis.
“No firefighter can take leave.”
Greece has been on high alert for wildfires since Tuesday, and authorities are preparing for a difficult summer as dry conditions, strong winds and high temperatures will continue into the next month.
Tourists with umbrellas walk in front of the Parthenon on the ancient Acropolis in central Athens, Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
Summer forest fires are common in Greece and authorities here have linked the increase in their number to the intensity of extreme weather events, including heat waves, and climate change.
However, arson remains serious across the country, with at least 79 people arrested last August over deadly wildfires.
The Mediterranean country recorded its first heat wave of the year last week, with temperatures exceeding 44 degrees Celsius in some places.
Last year, a fierce two-week heat wave was followed by devastating wildfires that killed 20 people.