Rio police say Greek ambassador to Brazil missing

Rio de Janeiro police said on Thursday that they are investigating the disappearance of Greece’s ambassador to Brazil.

Kyriakos Amiridis was last seen Monday night, the police said in a statement.

A police spokeswoman later told The Associated Press that a family member reported him missing in the city of Nova Iguacu, 25 miles (40 kilometres) north of Rio. Greece’s Foreign Ministry said he had been on vacation in the Rio area.

The Greek ministry issued a statement saying it had “requested the full mobilization of Brazilian authorities,” but gave no details.

According to the Greek Embassy website in Brazil, Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece’s top diplomat in Brazil in 2016.

He earlier was Greece’s ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001 and 2004.

Brazilian news website G1 reported that Amiridis’ wife has an apartment in Nova Iguacu.

The Greek foreign ministry said the embassy in Brasilia was informed Wednesday (sic) by people close to the ambassador that they have been unable to communicate with him since Monday.

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Associated Press writer Nicholas Paphitis contributed to this story from Athens.