Police seeking missing Greek ambassador in Brazil

Police in Rio de Janeiro have confirmed that a burnt-out car found in Nova Iguaçu, a city in the metropolitan area of Rio, has the same plate as the one driven by the ambassador of Greece to Brazil, Kyriakos Amiridis. A charred body was found inside the car.

Police Chief Evaristo Pontes of the local Homicide Police Division (DHBF) has also confirmed that the vehicle was the same model as the one hired by the ambassador, but the body still needed to be identified by a medical examiner.

“I can't say positively [that it was the ambassador's vehicle] because the car was burnt out. But I can verify that it had the same features, it was the same model, and had a number plate identical to the one on the vehicle hired by the ambassador. Now we're proceeding to medical examinations to find out if it was the ambassador's body in there,” Pontes said.

Amiridis went missing last Monday (Dec 26), after he left the home of his wife's family in Nova Iguaçu (his wife is Brazilian). He lives in Brasilia and was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro, where he served as Consul-General from 2001 to 2004.

Translated by Mayra Borges