Michael Mosley: Body found in search for TV doctor on Greek island of Symi

Published

1 year ago

June 9, 2024

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A body has been found in the search for TV doctor Michael Mosley, who went missing on a Greek island.

The body was found close to a cave complex beside Agia Marina on Symi, around 10 metres from the sea, and did not appear to show any signs of injury, the mayor of Symi Lefteris Papakalodoukas told Sky News.

Mr Papakalodoukas said he had been in a boat on the way to search in a cave with members of the media when they saw something on the rocks above the beach.

He says they filmed as they went, then used a mobile phone to zoom in on the image, and could see it was a body lying on the rocky slope.

Separately, the mayor said that the body appeared to have fallen down a steep slope, stopping against a fence and lying face-up with a few rocks on top of it.

The body had a leather bag in one hand, according to Antonis Mystiloglou a cameraman with state TV ERT who was on the boat with the mayor.

An umbrella is also understood to have been found close to the body.

The area had been searched on foot by firefighters and from above via helicopter on Saturday, according to local bar manager Agia Marina, who was one of the first people to find the body.

Mr Marina went to investigate the area by the fence after something unusual was spotted in the images taken from the boat. He said: “They called me, they said ‘You know what we saw something from far away, can you go and check’ so I went there.

“So when I walked up I saw something like a body to make sure. You don’t see a dead body everyday, it is not a warzone, it’s summer you are supposed to have fun and swimming.”

A police spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation, said that formal identification was pending.

A coroner from the larger island of Rhodes carried out an initial report on-site before the body was removed via boat. A post-mortem will be carried out to determine the cause of death.

The body was found on the opposite side from the Saint Nicholas beach where Mosley had left his wife and friends to go for a walk on Wednesday.

A hike from the point Mosley was last sighted at to the beach where the body was found would normally have taken around half an hour on foot, but the extremely hot weather – reaching levels of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last few days – would have made the journey much more arduous.

Mosley’s wife, Dr Bailey Mosley, and the couple’s four children will lay flowers at the place the body was found on Monday.

Earlier this week she had described the days since her husband’s disappearance as “the longest and most unbearable“.

Mosley’s three sons, Alex, Dan and Jack, and daughter Kate had travelled to the Greek island earlier this week to assist in the search for their father.

The alert had first been raised when the 67-year-old doctor failed to arrive back at their friends’ home in Symi Town, with an appeal and photo shared in a local Facebook group, asking “Have you seen this man?”

The presenter had reportedly set off on a walk from Saint Nikolas Beach at about 1.30pm local time.

Mosley was then captured on several CCTV cameras walking through the town of Pedi, around 1.2km away, and then near a yacht club in Marina Symi, further round the island. This was the last known sighting of him.

He did not have his mobile phone with him.

The doctor’s agent confirmed he was missing to the PA news agency on Thursday.

Rescue teams had been working on the assumption he may have mistakenly headed towards the rocky hills behind the marina.

Michael Mosley’s career

Mosley was known for appearing on television programmes like This Morning and The One Show.

He was one of the presenters of the series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor on the BBC – and also hosted its Just One Thing health podcast.

He also lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.

Mosley was also credited for the rising popularity of the 5:2 diet for losing weight, which involves fasting for two days per week.

He was a columnist for the Daily Mail and has made a number of films about diet and exercise.

More recently, he presented two series for Channel 4, Secrets Of Your Big Shop and Who Made Britain Fat?

His programmes have received nominations for RTS and Emmy awards, and he has previously been named “medical journalist of the year” by the British Medical Association.

Tributes poured in from fellow celebrities, including Jamie Oliver, Dr Phil Hammond, Professor Alice Roberts and Saleyha Ahsan.

Mosley’s former Trust Me I’m A Doctor co-presenter Saleyha Ahsan told Sky News Mosley was a “national treasure” who would always take time to talk to people off-stage.

She said he truly “cared about the health of the nation”, adding: “Michael’s advice, the 5:2 diet, that has really changed the approach of so many people about their health. He lived and breathed his work. He was an inspiration.”

Another of Mosley’s Trust Me, I’m A Doctor co-presenters, Dr Phil Hammond, said Mosley was always up for trying things out himself, and was fearless in his mission to improve people’s health.

Dr Hammond told Sky News: “One of the big [things] he’ll be remembered for is not just his popularising an explanation of science, but the fact that he would experiment himself… He was a person prepared to put his body on the line to test out science, and I can’t quite believe he’s gone”.

TV chef Oliver said he was “devastated” by the news, calling Mosley “a wonderfully sweet, kind and gentle man” who did “such a lot of good for public health with his TV shows and research”.

He called the TV doctor “a curious investigator, producer and presenter” who he said “changed the conversation around many public health issues for the better.” Oliver concluded: “He will be sadly missed.”

Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, called Mosley as a “hero”. The politician, who credited Mosley’s book The Fast Diet with playing a part in his 7-stone weight loss, wrote on X: “It’s hard to describe how upset I am by this news.

“Through courageous, science-based journalism, Michael Mosley has helped thousands of people get well and healthy. I’m one of them.”

Author, TV writer and former doctor Adam Kay said it was “desperately sad,” adding “May his memory be a blessing”.

Professor Roberts, who had known Mosley for many years, and said she had seen him at the Hay Festival just two weeks ago, wrote on X: “The fragility of life is so shocking… I can’t believe he’s gone”.

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World

Meredith Kercher’s killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

Published

8 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Meredith Kercher's killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

The man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been charged with sexual assault against an ex-girlfriend.

Rudy Guede, 38, was the only person who was definitively convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher in Perugia, Italy, back in 2007.

He will be standing trial again in November after an ex-girlfriend filed a police report in the summer of 2023 accusing Guede of mistreatment, personal injury and sexual violence.

Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was released from prison for the murder of Leeds University student Ms Kercher in 2021, after having served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence.

Since last year – when this investigation was still ongoing – Guede has been under a “special surveillance” regime, Sky News understands, meaning he was banned from having any contact with the woman behind the sexual assault allegations, including via social media, and had to inform police any time he left his city of residence, Viterbo, as ruled by a Rome court.

Guede has been serving a restraining order and fitted with an electronic ankle tag.

The Kercher murder case, in the university city of Perugia, was the subject of international attention.

Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found murdered in the flat she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox.

The Briton’s throat had been cut and she had been stabbed 47 times.

Ms Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were placed under suspicion.

Both were initially convicted of murder, but Italy’s highest court overturned their convictions, acquitting them in 2015.

World

IDF blames ‘technical error’ after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike

Published

11 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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IDF blames 'technical error' after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike

The Israeli military says it missed its intended target after Gaza officials said 10 Palestinians – including six children – were killed in a strike at a water collection point.

Another 17 people were wounded in the strike on a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al Awda Hospital.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant but a “technical error with the munition” had caused the missile to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.

The IDF said the incident is under review, adding that it “works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.

Officials at Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after the Israeli strike on the water collection point and six children were among the dead.

Ramadan Nassar, who lives in the area, said around 20 children and 14 adults were lined up Sunday morning to fill up water.

When the strike occurred, everyone ran and some, including those who were severely injured, fell to the ground, he said.

In total, 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials said.

Two women and three children were among nine killed after an Israeli strike on a home in the central town of Zawaida, officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.

Israel has claimed it hit more than 150 targets in the besieged enclave in the past day.

The latest strikes come after the Israel military opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah on Saturday. The Red Cross said 31 people were killed.

The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.

The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.

More than 58,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.

But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough, as a new sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce.

Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

World

‘At least 59 killed’ in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes

Published

1 day ago

July 12, 2025

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'At least 59 killed' in Gaza after Israeli military opens fire near aid centre and carries out strikes

At least 59 Palestinians have reportedly been killed after the Israeli military opened fire near an aid centre in Gaza and carried out strikes across the territory.

The Red Cross, which operates a field hospital in Rafah, said 25 people were “declared dead upon arrival” and “six more died after admittance” following gunfire near an aid distribution centre in the southern Gazan city.

The humanitarian organisation added that it also received 132 patients “suffering from weapon-related injuries” after the incident.

The Red Cross said: “The overwhelming majority of these patients sustained gunshot wounds, and all responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites.”

The organisation said the number of deaths marks the hospital’s “largest influx of fatalities” since it began operations in May last year.

The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.

It said in a statement: “Earlier today, several suspects were identified approaching IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops, hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site.

“IDF troops operated in order to prevent the suspects from approaching them and fired warning shots.”

Mother’s despair over shooting

Somia Alshaar told Sky News her 17-year-old son Nasir was shot dead while visiting the aid centre after she told him not to go.

She said: “He went to get us tahini so we could eat.

“He went to get flour. He told me ‘mama, we don’t have tahini. Today I’ll bring you flour. Even if it kills me, I will get you flour’.

“He left the house and didn’t return. They told me at the hospital: your son…’Oh God, oh Lord’.”

Asked where her son was shot, she replied: “In the chest. Yes, in the chest.”

‘A policy of mass murder’

Hassan Omran, a paramedic with Gaza’s ministry of health, told Sky News after the incident that humanitarian aid centres in Gaza are now “centres of mass death”.

Speaking in Khan Younis, he said: “Today, there were more than 150 injuries and more than 20 martyrs at the aid distribution centres… the Israeli occupation deliberately kills and commits genocide. The Israeli occupation is carrying out a policy of mass murder.

“They call people to come get their daily food, and then, when citizens arrive at these centres, they are killed in cold blood.

“All the victims have gunshot wounds to the head and chest, meaning the enemy is committing these crimes deliberately.”

Israel has rejected genocide accusations and denies targeting civilians.

‘Lies being peddled’

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US and Israeli-backed group which operates the distribution centre near Rafah, said: “Hamas is claiming there was violence at our aid distribution sites today. False.

“Once again, there were no incidents at or in the immediate vicinity of our sites.

“But that’s not stopping some from spreading the lies being peddled by ‘officials’ at the Hamas-controlled Nasser Hospital.”

The Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah has recorded more than 250 fatalities and treated more than 3,400 “weapon-wounded patients” since new food distribution sites were set up in Gaza on 27 May.

It comes after four children and two women were among at least 13 people who died in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli strikes pounded the area starting late on Friday, officials in Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the territory said.

Fifteen others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not responded to a request for comment on the reported deaths.

Israeli has been carrying out attacks in Gaza since Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.

Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.

But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough.

The latest fatalities in Gaza comes as a 20-year-old Palestinian-American man was beaten to death by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian Health ministry said.

Sayafollah Musallet, also known as Saif, was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and settlers in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, the ministry said.

A second man, Hussein Al-Shalabi, 23, died after being shot in the chest.

Mr Musallet’s family, from Tampa Florida, has called on the US State Department to lead an “immediate investigation”.

A State Department spokesperson said it was aware of the incident but it had no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.

The Israeli military said the confrontation broke out after Palestinians threw rocks at Israelis, lightly injuring them.