Greek ambassador Kyriakos Amoiridis has gone missing in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. The news came from Brazilian media, while the Greek Foreign Ministry initially kept silent.
According to local media, the ambassador lives in the country’s capital Brasilia and was supposed to be in Rio during the Christmas vacations.
Citing police source, the media report that his wife turned to police when she failed to contact Kyriakos Amoiridis.
He was allegedly last heard from late on Monday, December 26th 2016, when he sent a message through a messaging app on his phone.
An unspecified official claimed that he exchanged sms with the ambassador on Dec 26th but he was not sure “it was Amoiridis on the other side of the phone line.”
His wife reported him as missing to local police after being unable to get in touch with him.
It is not clear, whether the ambassador had any form of security while on vacation.
A Greek website that contacted the Greek embassy in Brazil received the information that Amoiridis is officially on vacation Dec 22nd 2016 – Jan 9th 2017.
Kyriakos Amoiridis, 59, has been assigned to the ambassadorial post in Brazil since May 2016. He served a General Consul in Brazil from 2001 to 2004.
He served as ambassador to Libya, worked at the Greek embassy in Serbia and the Netherlands as well as at the permanent representation of Greece in the european Union.
According to Brazilian media, there has been a poster about the missing ambassador.
Brazilian media report that homicide police has launched an investigation on a possible crime as wells a the option of kidnapping.
Late on Thursday, the Greek Foreign Ministry confirmed that Kyriakos Amoiridis has gone missing. The MNinistry says that is in close contact with the ambassador’s family, the Greek embassy in Brasilia and local authorities.
PS thanks to @Muschelschloss for the info alert.