Two die from heatstroke in Cyprus after killer heatwave strikes Greece

It comes after several tourists died from the heat in Greece

Tourists sit under a tree for shade amid hot weather at Eleftherias, Liberty, square in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A Cyprus health official has said two people have died from heatstroke after a heatwave struck the region. Others are fighting for their life in hospital.

On Friday an elderly person died from heatstroke after the weeklong heatwave with reportedly record temperatures for the month of June.

An 84-year-old woman died a day after her admission to a hospital on Friday, said State Health Services Organisation spokesman Charalambos Charilaou. He said another three elderly patients were in serious condition.

Temperatures on the island have soared all week, exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The high temperatures and strong winds also have hampered firefighting efforts, including in a mountainous area southwest of the capital Nicosia, where over 3.2 square kilometers (1.2 square miles) of forest were scorched, threatening a village.

Smoke from a wildfire drifts over Troodos mountain between villages Farmakas and Fikardou in Cyprus (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Last week, 49 residents in two communities in the island’s western Paphos district were evacuated to hotels as a wildfire threatened their homes, while aircraft from Greece and Jordan joined in firefighting efforts.

In Greece, several tourists have lost their lives in the heat.

A missing Dutch tourist was found dead early on Saturday on the eastern Greek island of Samos, local media reported, the latest in a string of cases in which tourists on Greek islands have died or gone missing.

A 70-year-old American tourist was also found dead after going missing on Thursday on the small island of Mathraki in Greece’s northwest extremity. The tourist had last been seen Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two female tourists who have since left the island.

Some, if not all, had set out on hikes in blistering hot temperatures.

A view of an ambulance and a fire brigade van on a beachfront of Symi island, Greece, Sunday, June 9, 2024 (AP)

Temperatures across Greece on Saturday were more than 10 degrees Celsius (18F) lower than on Thursday, when they peaked at almost 45C (113F). They are expected to rise again from Sunday, although not to heatwave levels.

Authorities were still searching for four people reported missing in the past few days.

On Friday, two French tourists were reported missing on Sikinos, a relatively secluded Cyclades island in the Aegean Sea, with less than 400 permanent residents.

The two women, aged 73 and 64, had left their respective hotels to meet.

British TV presenter, Dr Michael Mosley, was found dead on the island of Symi last weekend.