Greek envoy to Brazil missing, his car with corpse found

It is highly possible that Greek Ambassador to Brazil Kyriakos Amiridis has been killed, Brazilian authorities have said.

The ambassador went missing during a trip to Rio. A car matching the description and license plate of the one driven by Amiridis was found in Nova Iguacu on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The car was burnt and had a corpse inside. The remains have been sent for identification.

The police are investigating the circumstances around the ambassador's disappearance.

Amiridis' family reported no contact for a ransom in the past days, but the police did not rule out the possibility of a kidnapping.

According to the Rio police, Amiridis was last seen in Nova Iguacu.

Amiridis' wife reported him missing on Wednesday. According to her, she last talked to her husband by phone on Monday when he said he was in Nova Iguacu.

He was driving a rented car and it is believed he was headed for Rio for an end-of-year vacation. He was stationed in Brasilia.

Amiridis has been serving as Greece's ambassador to Brazil since early 2016. From 2001 to 2004, he was Greece's consul here.

--IANS

py/vt