‘I wanted to bring him back alive’: Volunteer who led search for TV doctor Michael Mosley

‘It is a very sad day; we always hoped we’d find him alive,’ said Jannis Volas, who was one of the chief volunteers leading the search and rescue operation

A huge, shocked group of press and bystanders gathered on Sunday afternoon to watch the conclusion to a story which has gripped the world over the last few days.

The body of TV doctor Michael Mosley, 67, was spotted that morning from a boat by a British TV reporter after a search which had taken over the entire island of Symi, in Greece.

The former medical personality, author of the popular fasting diet known as the 5:2, had almost made it to safety before he died.

Doctor and broadcaster Michael Mosley was last seen on Wednesday on the Greek island of Symi (PA Media)

Emergency rescue teams, who were searching just 50m from where Dr Mosley was found, were clearly devastated as his body was carried away.

Volunteers and emergency workers tried to locate him from 7am until 3am for three days in a row - but had missed his body by metres.

Jannis and Sophia Volas, who have been married for 37 years and have two sons, were the chief volunteers leading the search operation.

Dr Mosley was known for the popular 5:2 fasting diet (BBC/PA)

The couple’s endless search took place through unrelenting heat over jagged rocks, where poisonous snakes were hiding.

The pair paused only to make enough money to support their family – Ms Volas working in a Symi bakery, and Mr Volas a plasterer and blacksmith – but their tanned faces and evident exhaustion showed just how hard they had searched.

Mr Volas was among the group of 15 responsible for the most dignified removal of a body any of our press pack had ever seen.

Jannis Volas, a plasterer and a blacksmith, was devastated at the discovery of Dr Mosley’s body (Lucy Holden)

Jannis and Sophia Volas, the volunteers who led the search operation, have been married for 37 years (Lucy Holden)

They spent almost an hour analysing how to carry Dr Mosley down from the mountain, and the volunteers’ kindness, sensitivity and care stayed with me as I thought of the family later that evening.

Before seeing the body and carrying it down, Mr Volas told me it was with great sadness he had heard of the discovery.

“I wanted to bring him back alive,” he told The Independent, standing stooped with fatigue at Agia Marina’s one bar for beachgoers.

“It is a very sad day; we always hoped we’d find him alive,” he said, his crinkled face expressive yet hardened. “I was just 50m from that spot most days,” he added, trailing off, and rolling another cigarette.

But after we watched Dr Mosley’s body leave the bay by boat, carefully wrapped and strapped onto a gurney, Mr Volas couldn’t say a single word to me.

Rescue workers pictured near the site where a body has been discovered in the search for Dr Mosley (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Mr Volas said he “always hoped he’d find Dr Mosley alive” (Lucy Holden)

Dr Mosley’s body was found less than 24 hours after the family’s initial statement described how they had “not given up hope”.

Dr Clare Bailey Mosley said she didn’t quite know where to begin in her tribute to her husband, saying: “It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband.

“We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together. I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days.”

The couple’s four children - now in their twenties and thirties - had flown out on the second day to join an extensive search party, which included their mother and the mayor of Symi’s daughter. It was, however, the mayor himself who was part of the group who eventually found him.

Dr Clare Bailey Mosley paid tribute to her “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband” (Getty)

“My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world,” his wife added in her statement.

His family, who were advised not to view the body, were believed to be either following his body to Rhodes or visiting Symi this week to lay flowers.

The TV doctor was finally spotted near the caves of Agia Marina, just 200m from the water, a bar, and a restaurant full of staff. The same caves had been searched two days before, but emergency teams had to stop due to the extreme temperatures.

Dr Mosley had been so close to help that some volunteers believed he might have made it in under five minutes if the 40C heat had not made conditions so difficult.

The relentless search for Dr Mosley continued for days in the scorching heat (Lucy Holden)

A helicopter flying over the hills in Pedi, Symi, Greece, during the search for Dr Mosley (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

A surreally picturesque scene lay before what was considered - at least for now - a crime scene, while police waited for coroners from Rhodes to arrive at 2pm and declare an official death.

Those present in the bay watched as six firefighters, eight staff from Greek authorities and at least half a dozen police climbed towards Dr Mosley’s body.

The path from his fallen backpack to his body was so rocky that people helped one another across the treacherous terrain.

Regret and sadness had become overwhelming in Symi by the time he was moved from Agia Marina at 2.45pm for a formal investigation in Rhodes.

It was something that the island, and those of us who knew Dr Mosley and his work, would never forget.