June 17, 2024 – 6:00 pm
In nine days, six tourists died or went missing in Greece due to unusually high heat, reports A guardian.
A search is currently underway for three missing tourists after the body of an American man who went missing on Tuesday was found on Mathraki Island, west of Corfu, on Sunday. On Saturday, firefighters found the body of a 74-year-old Dutch man, who was carrying a drone, deep in a valley. Two French tourists went missing on Friday in Sikinos in the Cyclades archipelago. Also in Amorgos in the Cyclades, a 59-year-old American man disappeared on Tuesday after hiking in the hot weather.
Rescue teams are using dogs, helicopters and drones to search for two French women and an American man on the islands of the Cyclades, Sikinos and Amorgos.
Last week, the first heat wave of the summer closed the Acropolis in Athens, and schools in central and southern Greece remained closed due to the heat.
Greece is one of the most threatened countries in Europe regarding climate change. During last year's heatwave, several large forest fires destroyed and then storms caused severe flooding. According to meteorologists, last winter was the warmest in the country's recorded history, which makes it likely that more forest fires will break out this year.
