Michael Mosley’s friends pay tribute to ‘one of our most important broadcasters’
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Greek locals have warned tourists not to underestimate rising temperatures after an American man became the fifth tourist to be found dead.
The 55-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was found near the coast of Matraki island on Sunday and has been flown to Corfu where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Prior to his death, horse trainer Toby Sheets, also 55, was found dead on a remote Greek island after disappearing from a tavern. The body of British television presenter Michael Mosley was discovered on the island of Symi on June 9 after going for a walk in hot temperatures.
“There is a common pattern: they all went hiking in high temperatures,” said Petros Vasilakis, a spokesman for the South Aegean police.Temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Greece’s remote beaches, ancient ruins and mountain trails earlier this month, just as the holiday season began.
Local residents have expressed frustration with tourists hiking during extreme weather events.
Daphne Triss, 44, told i that tourists “underestimate and don’t know how intense the heat is”.
. “[We] “We often see tourists going hiking or cycling during the day, even though most Greeks know they shouldn’t exercise,” she says.
Are you affected? Email: barney.davis.ind@independent.co.uk
Key Point
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Death toll rises as American tourist found dead
A 55-year-old American was found dead on the Greek island of Matraki, police said Monday, the fifth tourist to be killed in recent weeks during unusually hot weather.
Police have not revealed the identity of the American whose body was found near the coast of Matraki island on Sunday. A police source told Reuters the body would be taken to Corfu where an autopsy would be carried out.
A 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found dead on the island of Samos on Saturday, and two hikers were found dead in Crete on June 5. Rescuers are also searching for two French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos and a 59-year-old American police officer on the island of Amorgos.
Earlier this month, Greece’s remote beaches, ancient ruins and mountain trails saw temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) as the holiday season just got underway.
“There is a common pattern: they had all gone hiking in high temperatures,” South Aegean police spokesman Petros Vasilakis told Reuters.
Athena StavrouJune 18, 2024 07:30
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Today’s weather in Greece
Greece continues to battle scorching heat, with tourists dying while hiking in hot temperatures in popular tourist destinations.
The Meteorological Agency predicted temperatures in Athens would hit 35C today, with similar temperatures expected on other islands.
The heat is surprising as June is considered spring in the region, and has locals worried about what to expect in July and August.
Temperatures regularly topped 40C last week, reaching 45C in some areas, leading to the closure of popular tourist sites such as the Acropolis in Athens.
(Associated Press)
Athena StavrouJune 18, 2024 09:08
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Greek locals increasingly frustrated with hiking tourists
Locals in Greece have grown frustrated that tourists are “underestimating” the heatwaves, where five holidaymakers are confirmed dead.
A documentary filmmaker based in Greece told i that tourists in Athens don’t realize how intense the heat is, and that he often sees them hiking in temperatures that would discourage locals from exercising.
“There is widespread discontent among local residents. [at British tourists] But they feel very sorry and very sad. [tourists’ deaths] “It’s not good for a tourist destination to have something like this happen,” she said.
(Reuters)
Athena StavrouJune 18, 2024 08:21
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Missing ex-sheriff’s girlfriend accuses rescue workers
Eric Albert Carivet, 59, who friends called him Albert, was vacationing on the island and was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon.
According to local media, Kalibet set out on a gruelling four-hour hike from Aghiaris to Katapola at around 7am. After he had not returned eight hours later, a friend reported him missing to Amorgos police. Authorities have been unable to contact either of Kalibet’s two mobile phones.
“I’m really disgusted by the way we’ve been treated,” Debbie Lechene told the New York Post on Monday.
“Albert has been a paramedic since he was 25 years old. Everybody deserves a search, but he really, really deserves a search,” Lechene said by phone from the island.
Kalibet, 59, had been holidaying on the island and was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday afternoon (Amorgos city).
Bernie Davis2024-06-18 07:30
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Toby Sheets won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and Dubai World Cup under the tutelage of top trainer Asmussen.
The Athens News Agency said Toby Sheets had been staying on the island of Matraki with a Greek-American friend. His body was taken to Corfu for an autopsy. The agency said the official cause of death had not yet been determined.
Sheets trained horses on his own from 1994 to 1999, and briefly in 2004, winning 46 races in 268 starts and earning $569,442 in prize money. During his career with Asmussen, Sheets periodically served as head of the day-to-day operations of Asmussen’s New York stable.
Bernie Davis2024-06-18 06:30
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Toby Sheets was last seen in a tavern on a remote Greek island
The tourist was last seen at a cafe on Tuesday with two female tourists, who have since left the island.
Matraki, with a population of 100, is a wooded island of 3.9 square kilometres (1.2 square miles) west of the better known island of Corfu.
It was the latest in a series of recent deaths and disappearances of tourists on the Greek islands, some – but not all – of whom were out hiking in sweltering heat.
The 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday lying face down in a ravine, about 300 meters (330 yards) from where he was last seen last Sunday, and struggling to walk in the scorching heat.
(Google/Chris Katihis)
Bernie Davis2024-06-18 04:00
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Autopsy carried out on body found washed up on isolated Matraki beach on Corfu island
A coroner was dispatched to Matraki on Sunday to carry out a preliminary investigation after Toby Sheets was found dead, ABC News reported.
The body will be taken to nearby Corfu where an autopsy will be carried out.
According to the Athens News Agency, Sheets had come to Matraki, a heavily wooded island of just 1.2 square miles with a population of just 100, to spend the holidays with Greek-American friends.
The Times reported that a friend called police after discovering Sheets’ door was open and the lights and air conditioner were on at her home.
Bernie Davis2024-06-18 03:04
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Further tributes to Toby Sheets from renowned horse trainer
The body of Toby Sheets, 55, was found on a shoreline after disappearing from a tavern on a remote Greek island.
Spiros Argyros, deputy mayor of Matraki, told The New York Times that the area where Sheets was found had been searched before.
“He was found on the beach in an area that had already been searched so it appears he had been swept out to sea within the last 24 hours,” he said.
Steve Asmussen is one of North America’s leading horse trainers with more than 10,500 wins in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and Dubai World Cup.
Asmussen paid tribute to TDN, saying, “Toby was a member of our stable for many years, winning the Belmont Stakes with Creator and also training Haynesfield skillfully. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends.”
Bernie Davis2024-06-18 01:04
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Tributes pour in after American body ‘washed up on Greek island’
An assistant to record-breaking horse trainer Steve Asmussen has been found dead, washed up on the shores of a Greek island.
The family of Toby Sheets, 55, confirmed to TDN that he was the tourist whose body was found on the tiny island of Matraki, west of Corfu.
“He died in Greece,” Greg Sheets said, “That’s all we know right now. The family is trying to figure out what happened.”
Sheets was reported missing by her Greek-American host friend on Thursday, 48 hours after she was seen at a cafe with two female tourists who had since left the island.
His body was taken for autopsy.
Bernie Davis2024-06-17 23:07
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French woman sends distress message before disappearing: police
The search is ongoing for two French tourists, aged 64 and 73, who went missing while walking on the island of Sikinos.
But police are not sure exactly where they were walking or what their destination was.
Petros Vasilakis, spokesman for the South Aegean police, told CNN that one of the women had sent a distress message to the guesthouse where she was staying.
The person who received the message raised the alarm.
Bernie DavisJune 17, 2024 21:30
