Greece broadens search for missing UK journalist

Athens: Greek officials on Friday said they had broadened a search for British journalist and television presenter Michael Mosley a day after he went missing on the Aegean island of Symi.

“There is a big effort underway to find him,” Symi police chief Petros Vassilakis said, adding that the search had been extended to the sea around the island.

Around 20 firefighters and police officers are searching on land, aided by volunteers, a drone and a sniffer dog, while additional coastguard units are assisting by sea, Vassilakis said.

According to Greek media reports, Mosley’s wife Clare Bailey alerted authorities on Thursday morning after the 67-year-old failed to return from a walk on the island where they were vacationing.

Greek daily Kathimerini quoted Bailey as saying Mosley “left for a walk on the Agios Nikolaos beach heading toward Pedi, and has been missing since then”.

Symi mayor Lefteris Papakalodoukas told the paper that the area where Mosley was last reported was “difficult because it’s very rocky”.

There are concerns the journalist may have sustained heat exhaustion as temperatures this week have reaching 39.3 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) on Symi.

Mosley is a noted health journalist who has presented programmes for the BBC, appearing on shows including “The One Show” and “This Morning”, and directed documentaries.