LAST UPDATE | 7 Jun 2024

DIVERS ARE SEARCHING for missing TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley off the Greek island of Symi.

The local police department restarted scouring the island this morning after pausing the search-and-rescue operation for the 67-year-old British national last night.

Police and firefighters have been using drones to try to locate Mosley, who vanished after setting off on a walk to the centre of the island on Wednesday.

Symi deputy mayor, Ilias Chaskas, confirmed to the PA news agency that “divers are looking in the water”, and the local coast guard have joined the rescue efforts.

Symi’s coast guard said: “All our patrol boats are searching … about five and also all the private boats, commercial boats know about the incident and they look for [him] also.”

A spokesperson for the Greek fire service told PA: “The search continues today with seven firefighters, one drone checking the wider area, and we [are] co-operating with the Hellenic Police Office.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that Greek police are using sniffer dogs in the search.

Mosley is known for popularising the 5:2 diet, as well as appearances on BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning.

Mosely was reported to have gone missing after setting off on a walk to the centre of Symi on Wednesday. A statement from Greek police said officers were informed about the “disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island” on Wednesday.

Police then asked for assistance from the Greek fire service, with six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team arriving from Rhodes at about 2pm (12pm Irish time) yesterday. A helicopter was also deployed in the search operation yesterday.

The search resumed this morning at 7am and more officers have joined in the operation. The rescue operation is said to be focusing on the Pedi area of the island after a woman reported seeing Mosley there on Wednesday.

However, the Mayor of Symi Eleftherios Papakalodoukas said firefighters had told him they believed it was “impossible” Mosley was still there. A woman in the area told the PA news agency that Mosley’s disappearance was “strange” as the path he was thought to be on is “clear”.

She said: “It’s a quiet place … if you see the map of the area it’s a clear path, it’s nothing dangerous, many people go every day, every few minutes, that’s the reason it’s very strange because it’s a clear path.”

A friend of the person Mosley was staying with said she was struggling to understand how anyone could get lost on the part of the island he was believed to be on.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drive programme, she said: “It’s a road that sort of heads over the mountain side but it’s been recently widened and there is only one route, so it’s not possible to lose your way.

“I’m having trouble understanding how you could get lost.”

Meanwhile, a British Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed it is “supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Mosley received an Emmy nod for BBC science documentary The Human Face, presented by John Cleese and featuring a raft of famous faces, including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and David Attenborough.

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

BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine wrote in a social media post: “I’m praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family.”

I'm praying this lovely man is found and thinking of Claire and the whole Mosley family.

🟥BBC News - TV doctor Michael Mosley missing in Greecehttps://t.co/WjRTTGERoM

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 6, 2024

He also called on people to be “kind in responses at this time”, but noted that “most people seem to have a hugely positive view”.

Still no news. I hope we hear something positive soon. The waiting must be awful for his family.

May I ask people to please be kind in responses at this time. This is not the moment to bring up any gripes (though most people thankfully seem to have a hugely positive view) https://t.co/rZRUZYKj2D

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 6, 2024

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, also a doctor, author and health columnist, who wrote the recipe book Fast 800 Easy.

The couple, who have hosted theatre show tours together, recently attended the Hay Festival, where Mosley presented a special edition of his BBC Radio 4 series and podcast Just One Thing.

-With additional reporting from Press Association