Michael Mosley: Symi mayor sparks concern as he warns 'no one could survive heat' and search dogs pulled

Michael Mosley: Symi mayor sparks concern as he warns 'no one could survive heat' and search dogs pulled

WATCH HERE: Anne Diamond and Stephen Dixon deliver latest on Michael Mosley search on Saturday

GB NEWS
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 08/06/2024

- 10:36

Updated: 08/06/2024

- 10:37

The Greek island of Symi has been basking in scorching hot temperatures

The mayor of Symi, Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas, has vowed he won't call off the search for missing TV doctor Michael Mosley until he is found.

However, with temperatures hitting 40C on the Wednesday that Mosley was reported missing and scorching temperatures continuing to hit the island, the mayor has warned he doesn't know how "anyone could survive" the heat.


The heat got so bad on Saturday morning that police had to pull back the help of search dogs due to the temperatures.

A search dog was only able to work for an hour after the search resumed at 6am as police scoured for clues.

The search operation has included police, firefighters with drones, volunteer groups, divers, and Mosley's own children who flew out to Greece this week.

A new path has become a focus of the search, with Papakaloudoukas describing the journey Mosley is believed to have taken as "difficult to pass" and "only rocks".

Symi mayor Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas

Symi mayor Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas has questioned how anyone could survive in the heat

PA

He added there are "loads" of snakes also populating the trek.

The Symi mayor outlined his hopes Mosley would be found "safe and alive" before adding through a translator: "All the community is so sad about this, (it has) never happened before."

The mayor's stark warning about the heat and worries over whether anyone could survive in such temperatures will undoubtedly add to the concern of many hoping for a positive outcome.

Several famous faces have echoed the mayor's sentiment and waded into the appeal over the past few days, including Jeremy Clarkson and Jeremy Vine.

Michael Mosley search

Michael Mosley search: Volunteers have helped authorities look for Mosley

PA

Theories have been bandied around ever since the appeal was issued on Wednesday evening, with some fears that Mosley may have been "swept into the sea".

GB News stars Anne Diamond and Stephen Dixon spoke with Greek journalist Iliana Magra on Saturday morning to hear the latest from Symi - although the former admitted one working theory "didn't make much sense".

"It's as you said a major search operation - the police are involved, the fire service are involved, there are volunteer search groups involved, dogs, drones, helicopters," Magra began to Diamond and Dixon.

"The very strange and worrying thing is that - obviously, the authorities aren't talking - (but) even the mayor and local residents of this very small island which has a population of about 2,500 residents do not understand what might have happened.

"It's a small island and what they're saying is that a person doesn't just disappear that easily.

"The authorities are now focussing on a different path that he might have taken so he left the beach at 1:30pm on Wednesday, then he was seen at Pedi which is a village on Symi island. He was around there at 2pm.

Michael Mosley

Michael Mosley: The search resumed on Saturday morning for the missing TV doctor

ITV/PA

"Then we don't know where he went," Magra admitted. "Now they're searching a different path he may have taken through a mountainous area so the search area is focusing there so hopefully we'll have news and hopefully we'll have good news soon."

"Hopefully it will be good news but he has been missing a long time now and that in itself is a worry," Diamond weighed in.

"Unless he's found shelter somewhere," the GB News star added but quickly conceded the theory may no longer hold weight.

Diamond mused the shelter theory "doesn't make very much sense now" before continuing: "It's just so weird that he hasn't been found and there's been no trace of him or people haven't bumped into him."

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