Doctor Hilary Jones has paid tribute to Michael Mosley after his death was confirmed as a result of natural causes.
The 67-year-old’s body was found on Sunday following an extensive search on the Greek island of Symi where the TV doctor disappeared after going for a walk.
Fellow TV doctor Jones, 70, talked about Mosley’s death on Tuesday as he warned holidaymakers to take precautions while in hot countries.
Mosley was tragically believed to be just yards from safety when he died following a difficult walk in the heat, and is believed to have suffered from heat exhaustion before passing away.
Presenter Lorraine Kelly remarked: “So many people have come out and said you know, he changed their lives, he helped them to change their diets.”
“Oh, he was much-loved,” Jones agreed, to which Kelly asked: “But how much do we know about what actually happened? Because the thing is he was just so close to getting help.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Jones confirmed. “So the pathologist has suggested that it’s almost certain that he died of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
“Clearly, this is a loss of life through misadventure. If he took the wrong turning then that was unfortunate.
Mosley died of natural causes during a walk in Greece
ITV
“But there’s a possibility that he challenged himself to be adventurous, he was an adventurous man.”
“He was, he pushed himself all the time!” Kelly pointed out.
“And it may be that he pushed himself in the hottest part of the day, doing vigorous exercise,” Jones explained.
He continued: “Now, the general advice is you don’t do vigorous exercise in the hottest part of the day, you carry water, you don’t wear dark clothes – all of which he didn’t do.”
“Like I said, he was so close to safety, wasn’t he?” Kelly reiterated. “You know when you see where he was found and how close he was, it’s just so sad. But I honestly think you can’t underestimate the heat.”
Jones talked about the dangers of dehydration
ITV
“Dehydration is very insidious,” Jones remarked. “We talk about dehydration a lot, even in this country where it’s not very hot. It’s not even 20 degrees here, it was 40 there at the hottest part of the day.
“So if you’re climbing a hill and you’re stepping from rock to rock, that parasol he had – his arms would have been trying to balance himself, it wouldn’t have been very effective. He was wearing dark clothes.
“And people do challenge themselves to do things, like swimming far out to sea, trekking in the heat, it’s something I’ve done. I’ve had dehydration – and I wasn’t thirsty.
“I had a very fast heart rate, felt a little bit dizzy, and you know it is insidious, it creeps up on you. And he nearly made it, and the suggestion is he either sat down or lay down to take a little breather before he reached the beach and the bar and the shade there and access to water, but then became dizzy and lost consciousness and didn’t wake up. So the whole thing is tragic.”
He went on: “And it’s made us all think about being careful.”
“It has, he’s still educating everybody, even now, that’s the thing,” Kelly added.
Mosley vanished last Wednesday after setting off for a walk in Greece
Getty
“I do think sometimes you know, you live here, you go for your two weeks away – of course you want to lie in the sun, of course you want to do lots of different things, of course you do. But don’t underestimate it, it is energy-sapping.”
Jones agreed: “It is, and you know people who do these challenges like Iron Man events, they are very highly-trained, they know about re hydrating and taking a break when they need to, they do the training. I think it’s just terribly tragic.
“And he was 67, I know he desperately wanted to live longer than his father, who he thought died too young at 74… So there’s an irony there too.
“But our hearts go out to his family and his children, his legacy will live on – he changed the lives and probably saved the lives of so many people.”
