Foul play has been ruled out in the death of Michael Mosley – as CCTV footage appears to show him falling over close to where his body was found.
WARNING: This article contains descriptions of Dr Michael Mosley’s last moments which some readers might find distressing
There were no injuries on the TV doctor’s body that could have caused his death, according to Greek police sources.
CCTV footage appeared to show him falling over close to where his body was found in Agia Marina on the island of Symi – and clearly shows that no one was with him.
His time of death was around 4pm on Wednesday, a few hours after he went missing and very soon after he fell.
The cause of death can only be determined once the toxicology report is back.
Footage found by a beach bar at Agia Marina shows what appears to be the 67-year-old making his way down a rocky slope close to a fence before he falls out of view.
Agia Marina bar manager Ilias Tsavaris, 38, told Sky News correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury in Symi the CCTV shows Mosley walking along the perimeter.
“Over there in the mountains, like 30m from the place where we found him, he started crawling a little. And then the distance of 30m, which a normal person could do in two minutes or five minutes, took him half an hour or more,” he said.
“So he’s still crawling over and then he fell, passed out exactly in the place where we found him.”
Image: Dr Michael Mosley. Pic: SYSPEO/SIPA/Shutterstock
She said Mosley – who went missing on Wednesday after leaving his wife and friends at Agios Nikolaos beach to walk back to their hotel – appeared to have undertaken an “incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen” by search and rescue teams.
Tributes have poured in for the doctor who made popular the 5:2 diet and championed public health.
Mosley first trained as a doctor in London before moving into the world of media, becoming a presenter, documentary maker, author and columnist.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:02
Who was Michael Mosley?
His body was discovered by a cameraman on Sunday morning after a widespread search by emergency services operating in dangerous conditions and high temperatures.
He had been missing for four days and police said they believed he had walked north from Pedi marina in the direction of Agia beach.
His wife raised the alarm after he failed to return.
His four children also arrived on the island to help search for their father as the focus shifted to a snake-infested mountainous area after CCTV footage on Saturday emerged of his then last known movements.
It showed him on Wednesday making his way through the small fishing village of Pedi heading up into the remote rocky terrain.
Image: This image of Mosley was shared in a local Facebook group appeal
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:28
CCTV of Mosley on day he went missing
Mr Tsavaris was the person sent to check if what local cameraman Antonios saw was indeed the doctor’s body.
He told Chowdhury: “Without saying anything I went outside the fence and as soon as I turned my head on the left, I saw something. I went up close, really close to the man. I saw the body.
“You don’t see these kinds of things every day, especially on a small island and a small place like this. So it was not the best feeling.”
He said he has not been able to eat since yesterday, adding his thoughts are with Dr Mosley’s children who he said had followed their father’s perceived footsteps two days earlier and searched just metres away from where his body was eventually found.
“The whole family came here still searching. They had some water to get some rest. And then they continued searching, walking. But they took the path back on the opposite side.”
He told of how close Dr Mosley’s children had come to finding their father.
“If they walked for five minutes, probably,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing, because I cannot imagine his family that’s here to see what I saw. And believe me, what I saw, it’s… I cannot describe. It was not a good thing to see.”
Image: A coastguard boat took the body to Rhodes for a post-mortem
Image: Pic: Reuters
Mosley’s body was found about 50m from the closest jetty and the resort’s northern sunbeds – and taken to Rhodes by the Greek coastguard for a post-mortem and formal identification.
The coroner’s office in Rhodes confirmed to Chowdhury an autopsy has been completed.
The news has sparked an outpouring of grief from his loved ones and fans, with friends and colleagues praising him for innovating the world of science and health broadcasting.
Chris van Tulleken, Mosley’s co-presenter on BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, said broadcasting can be “very competitive and a bit cut-throat” but Mosley “created this generous idea that we were all in this together and so he was endlessly helpful off screen as well”.
He added: “There’s so much of his content I just consumed as a normal consumer. I enjoyed it, it entertained me while I was listening, and then it quietly changed my daily practices. So my own personal medical routine every day is very, very based on the work of Michael Mosley over the last 10-15 years.”
Downing Street said Mosley was an “extraordinary broadcaster” who had a “huge impact” on people’s lives.
Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.
Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.
In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”
He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.
The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.
The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:08
26 March: Anti-Hamas chants heard at protest in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:22
Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza
Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.
“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.
“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”
“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.
Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.
The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.
The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.
If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.
And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?
“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.
“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:52
‘Days of US being ripped off are over’
Dancing to the president’s tune
My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.
Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.
But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.
Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.
One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.
Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
6:03
Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’
Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?
The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.
It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.
Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?
Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?
US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.
Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?
For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.
A man inside Mandalay has told Sky News bodies remain under “collapsed and inclining” buildings after the Myanmar earthquake – as a woman was freed from rubble after 91 hours.
The local inside Myanmarsaid many of the structures in the city were wrecked or badly damaged after the 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday, adding: “There are some bodies, some dead bodies, that still remain and other destruction”.
Meanwhile, in a televised address, Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing said the number of dead had risen to 2,719 and is expected to exceed 3,000.
Some 4,521 people have been injured, while a further 441 are missing.
More than 10,000 buildings are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged in central and northwest Myanmar, the World Health Organisation said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:41
Before and after: Myanmar earthquake
Smell of dead bodies near destroyed buildings
In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, which was close to the quake’s epicentre, 50 children and two teachers were killed when their preschool collapsed, the United Nations said.
The local in the city told Sky News that “a lot of local assistance associations like charity groups are still struggling with digging out the corpses, the dead bodies, from the destruction”.
He said that “when we pass near the destructions, the collapsed building or very damaged building, we can smell” dead bodies.
“The smell of the dead bodies after four days… it still remains,” he said, before adding: “For the social assistance association… they need permission [to give aid] especially from the government.
“If they don’t have permission, then they cannot do anything.”
Image: People sheltering in a makeshift tent camp in Mandalay. Pic: Reuters
He also said others in Mandalay are struggling after the earthquake, which followed the city being affected by cyclones, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the civil war in Myanmar – where a junta seized power in a coup in 2021.
“Some people, they say they have nothing at all,” the local added. “They have no more home, they have no more belongings, because its already damaged.”
Woman freed after 91 hours under rubble
It comes after the fire department in Myanmar’s capital freed a woman trapped under rubble 91 hours after the building collapsed.
The 63-year-old woman was freed early on Tuesday in Naypyidaw.
Datawrapper
This content is provided by Datawrapper, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Datawrapper cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Datawrapper cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Datawrapper cookies for this session only.
As the country continues to recover, a worker from the International Rescue Committee said people fear aftershocks and are sleeping outside on roads or in open fields.
Communities are struggling to meet basic needs such as access to clean water and sanitation, and emergency teams are working “tirelessly” to locate survivors and provide aid, the UN said in a report.
Rescue efforts have been complicated by the civil war, as rebel groups say the junta has conducted airstrikes, even after the quake, while NGOs fear that certain areas could be denied vital supplies.
“Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,” said Joe Freeman, a researcher with Amnesty Myanmar.
“It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.”