Tourist found dead in ravine on Greek island of Crete

A tourist has been found dead on the Greek island of Crete. The hiker, who was a German tourist, was discovered in a ravine less than two days after he went missing.

He was the sixth tourist to die in Greece this month. According to reports, the Greek fire brigade said the 68-year-old man was reported missing on Sunday and found on Monday morning.

Le Matin reported that the hiker’s body was in such a difficult-to-reach location that a helicopter was unable to land in the area. It meant the man's body had to be moved from the area on foot by a rescue team.

READ MORE: Missing Jay Slater among 11 others to vanish in Tenerife this year

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.

The latest death of a tourist in Europe comes as the continent battles through another heatwave, Express reports. Temperatures have risen above 40C, creating treacherous conditions.

Greece in particular has been hit by an unprecedented early heatwave which has caused the mercury to soar to 44C and 45C. As a result of the extreme heat, tourist attractions have had to shut in some places including Athens, Crete, and the Peloponnese peninsula.

This summer has also seen the death of American tourist Toby Sheets on the island of Mathraki, TV presenter Michael Mosley on Symi, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist on the island of Samos, and an 80-year-old Belgian tourist near the Cretian city of Lato.

The heatwave was so intense earlier this month that the UK’s Foreign Office updated its travel advice to put Greece on a red alert, warning Brits travelling to the country to take precautions.

Greek state TV meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos said: "In the 20th century, we never had a heatwave before June 19. We have had several in the 21st century."

There are fears that the recent weather could be a preview of much warmer summers to come. Earlier this month, weather expert Jim Dale said it was 'entirely possible' some parts of southern Europe could see 50C later this summer.

Mr Dale warned that 50C would be 'an exceptional event' but that if it were to occur it could happen in 'places like southern Spain and Greece'.

He added: "Where it would originate from would be Egypt or Saudi Arabia where you get a south-easterly into Greece or out of Morocco or Algeria into southern Spain."