At least six tourists dead as Greece suffers heatwave

A 67-year-old German has been found dead on the Greek island of Crete, police said on Monday, the sixth tourist death in June during a period of unusually hot weather.

The tourist had set off alone on a hike in a canyon in the Sougia region on Sunday and after a few hours called his wife to report that he was not feeling well.

“A search and rescue operation started immediately and a special rescue unit with drones spotted the man’s (body) in Trypiti canyon,” a police official told Reuters.

Police did not identify the dead German.

There has been a spate of deaths and disappearances of tourists during an unusual June heatwave across the Mediterranean country, highlighting the dangers of exposure to temperatures touching or exceeding 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Rescue teams are also searching for two French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos, and a 59-year-old American policeman holidaying on the island of Amorgos.

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 in the month.

The body of British TV presenter Michael Mosley was found on Symi, another Aegean island, on June 9 after a four-day search operation by aircraft, drones and boats. He had taken a walk alone in high temperatures before going missing.