Amid an unseasonal heatwave, an American tourist was found dead near Greece’s Corfu island on Sunday, with three other visitors reported missing, according to media reports.
The body of the 55-year-old man was discovered in the sea near Mathraki’s old port by another tourist who alerted authorities, as detailed by public broadcaster ERT and Athens News Agency.
The man, last seen alive on Tuesday, had been vacationing on Mathraki accompanied by a Greek-American friend. His body will undergo examination at Corfu hospital, as confirmed by Athens News Agency.
This incident adds to a string of recent tourist fatalities across Greek islands, including the death of BBC presenter Michael Mosley in Symi last week and the discovery of a deceased 74-year-old Dutchman in Samos on Saturday.
Search operations continue for two French women aged 73 and 64 reported missing on Sikinos island, as well as for another missing tourist in Amorgos.
Many of these incidents occurred during hikes in scorching conditions, with Greece experiencing record temperatures for early June, peaking at 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
Meteorologists have labeled this the earliest recorded heatwave for Greece, characterized by temperatures surpassing 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for three consecutive days.
As a precautionary measure due to the extreme weather, the UNESCO-listed Athens Acropolis archaeological site, a key tourist attraction, remained closed to the public during peak heat hours for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
