British tourist missing on Greek island of Rhodes as police launch search

A British holidaymaker has vanished on the Greek island of Rhodes , prompting a huge police and coastguard search.

The man, believed to be 48, was staying on the island with relatives, according to local media, and he went missing on Wednesday after going swimming with his niece at Theologos beach. His niece, whose age has not been revealed, left and returned to their hotel.

When after several hours she realised that her uncle had not returned, she went back to the beach to look for him and notified the authorities.

The Greek coastguard has launched a search operation, together with the police, and alerted boats in the area.

Several tourists have gone missing while on holiday in Greece , including television doctor Michael Mosley, who died on Symi in June after walking in a heatwave, sparking a days-long search.

In July four foreign holidaymakers vanished in Greece, according to Tovima.com.

In the most recent, members of an alpine civil protection unit searched for a 23-year-old man from Slovakia on a peak overlooking the northwest lakeside city of Ioannina from the north, it said.

Two French people, aged 73 and 64, went missing on the secluded island of Sikinos, also leading to a search by authorities.