World News

Missing German man found dead on Crete — the sixth troubling tourist death in weeks

A missing German man has been found dead on Crete — the latest in an unusual string of tourist deaths during weeks of unprecedented heat in Greece.

The body of the unidentified 67-year-old man was discovered in a secluded area of Sentoni Beach on the Greek isle after his wife reported him missing Sunday, firefighters said.

The man had reportedly gone on a solo hike in the blistering temps without water and after a few hours called his wife to say he was feeling unwell.

Tourists have been known to explore hard-to-reach gorges in Crete. Iraklis Milas – stock.adobe.com

Firefighters tracked his phone signal, and a search party eventually spotted his remains in Trypiti Gorge using a drone, according to local news outlets.

The death was the sixth in an eerie fatal toll of tourists who traveled to the scenic Greek Islands this month and then succumbed to the extreme summer weather.

The Mediterranean area has been suffering from scorching temperatures, with many days reaching the triple digits and marking Greece’s earliest summer heatwave on record.

The first in the troubling trend of tourist deaths involved Dr. Michael Mosley, a British physician and TV star who was found dead June 9 after going missing on the island of Symi.

A Dutch vacationer met the same fate as the 67-year-old dead hiker, too, after the man traversed another Greek island in sweltering heat.

The body of a 74-year-old Dutch traveler was also found by firefighters using a drone on the island of Samos.

Greek isles such as Mathraki lure tourists — but also have posed deadly risks during the country’s heatwave. REUTERS
Tourist spots such as the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, have proved brutal during recent 100-plus temps. AP

The man was last seen struggling to hike on a day when temperatures hit more than 100 degrees.

His body was found in a ravine.

Usually a dream vacation spot, Greece is experiencing a hellish summer with the deaths as well as a large wildfire that erupted on the island of Hydra — one of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezoz’s favorite vacation spots — after yachters allegedly launched fireworks to entertain guests.