British tourist dies on Mount Vesuvius near Naples amid heatwave

A British tourist has died after climbing Mount Vesuvius in Italy during a heatwave.

The man, named locally as Mark John Irwin, was reportedly close to the summit of the volcano near Naples at the weekend when he had a fatal heart attack.

The 56-year-old, who was in Italy with his wife and two children, was based in the US.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Rome said officials were supporting the family of a British national who died in Italy.

Italy has seen temperatures as high as 40C in recent days with excessive heat being blamed for other deaths acoss the continent, including in Crete where a 67-year-old German man was found dead after embarking on a solo hike on the island.

Rescuers are still looking for two French women walkers, aged 73 and 64, who went missing on the Greek island of Sikinos and a 59-year-old American retired policeman is being looked for after going missing on the island of Amorgos.

TV presenter and health expert Michael Mosley was found dead on the Greek island of Symi earlier this month after he set off to walk on his own in high temperatures.

In Tenerife, an extensive search operation lasting days is continuing to try to find a missing British teenager Jay Slater.

The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire went missing eight days ago, with his last known location being in an inhospitable area of steep ridges and deep canyons near the small mountain village of Masca.

He disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

The teenager had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and was last heard from on Monday last week.