Missing 20-year-old found dead off Greek island in Ionian Sea

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - A 20-year-old South African national was found dead Friday after he was reported missing on Thursday afternoon, the Greek Coast Guard said.

According to local media reports, the young man, named Benjamin, was working on a catamaran when he jumped into the sea for a swim and never returned.

The coast guard was alerted and a search and rescue operation was launched along the coast of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea, west of Greece.

His body was later discovered near the island’s port of Sami by a private diver.

A plea was also posted on social media by his mother on the same day.

Several people, including tourists, have gone missing while others were found dead in Greece in recent months, BBC host Michael Mosley among them. Unseasonably hot weather has been identified as a factor.

Mosley’s body was found on the island of Symi after he was last seen going for a walk at a time when temperatures soared up to 40C (104F).

In June alone, four people went missing or were found dead after going for hikes in extremely high temperatures.

Some were recovered while others still remain missing.