British man, 56, dies while climbing Mount Vesuvius with wife and two children

A British man has died on holiday in front of his wife and children while climbing Mount Vesuvius.

Identified locally as Mark Irwin, 56, he died on Sunday after hiking the 4,000ft volcano near Naples, Italy, where temperatures have hit 40°C in recent days.

He is believed to have suffered a heart attack and died despite mountain guides using a defibrillator on him for over half an hour.

Paolo Cappelli, a mountain guide spokesman, said that at the time of the climb the heat was not as excessive and the temperature was at 27°C.

He added: ‘He was right up at the summit when he collapsed.

‘His wife told us that he had had an operation on his heart two or three months ago. We think he may have had a heart attack.

‘It’s very sad. It is pretty rare for this to happen on Vesuvius. We have one death every one or two years which is not much considering the fact that around 3,000 people climb to the top of the volcano each day.’

A spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: ‘We are assisting the family of a British man who died in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities.’

He is the latest tourist to have died as excessive heat has taken over some parts of Europe.

The Mediterranean region has seen temperatures as high as 40°C in recent days.

The spate of deaths started with the discovery of the body of British TV presenter Michael Mosley on June 9 on the Greek island of Symi.

Rescuers are currently searching for two missing French women, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos and a 59-year-old American man on Amorgos.

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