Dr Michael Mosley search hit by extreme alert amid 'strange' disappearance

The Greek island where Dr Michael Mosley has gone missing has been hit by an extreme weather warning.

As the search enters its third day, forecasters have issued a yellow warning for extremely high temperatures from 10am local time (11am BST) to 7pm (5pm BST) on Friday. Temperatures are expected to reach max highs between 48C to 50C. It also has a yellow weather warning in force in Rhodes and the surrounding islands including Symi for high temperatures.

The 67-year-old presenter vanished while hiking from St Nicholas Beach to Pedi Beach. His journey started at around 1.30pm, and worries mounted when he did not return by 7.30pm, triggering his wife, Dr Clare Bailey, 62, to raise the alert.

Read more: Dr Michael Mosley missing: Live updates from third day of major search on Greek island of Symi

The local police department confirmed at around 7am on Friday that officers are scouring the island following them pausing the search-and-rescue operation for the 67-year-old British national on Thursday night.

Local people from Symi, a helicopter from Rhodes and Greek officers, along with police drafted in from outside the island, are searching the Pedi area and surroundings on Friday morning, the mayor’s office said.

One woman in the region said Dr Mosley's disappearance was "strange" as the path he was believed to have disappeared on is "clear". She said: "It's a quiet place...if you see the map of the area it's a clear path, it's nothing dangerous, many people go every day, every few minutes, that's the reason it's very strange because it's a clear path."

On the day of Dr Mosley's disappearance, the National Obervatory of Atherns reported extremely high temperatures in Symi - with levels reaching well above 40C.

The circumstances surrounding Dr Mosley's disappearance are not yet clear, with Greek police leaving "every potential scenario" open for investigation. Police spokesperson Constantina Dimoglidou said: "Any and every attempt to track him down has not produced any result.

"We have now asked the fire brigade to assist in the operation in the case that he may have slipped, tripped, fallen, even bitten by a snake, remaining injured somewhere. There is just no trace of him – none whatsoever, and that means that, for us at least, every potential scenario is open and being investigated.”