LARISSA – The bodies of an Austrian couple on their honeymoon who went missing from a rented beach home in Greece when floods struck were found separately, she on a beach and he in the sea, confirmed by DNA tests.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry made the announcement without naming the victims. The newlyweds had rented a home on the beach in Potistika in the Pelion region and decided to stay inside and not flee.

Coast Guard crews found her body on the beach of Theotokos while he was pulled out of the sea off the coast of Mourtia Beach, media reports said, the rented home completely submerged.

Thanasis Samaras, owner of the home, previously said they were from Graz.

A spokesperson told the BBC: “It is with deep sadness that we have to confirm the death of two Austrian citizens in Greece. The comparisons of DNA profiles have now confirmed the identity of the two missing persons. In these difficult times, we extend our deepest condolences to the families and the bereaved.”

The holiday home’s owner earlier told the BBC the Austrian couple had decided to shelter inside the bungalow they had rented for their honeymoon as the heavy rainfall swept central Greece.

Samaras said he and other guests had left for higher ground and had advised the couple to do the same. “The situation was very bad. It’s very difficult to decide what to do in a moment like that,’ Samaras said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66833970

The floods which killed 15 people left thousands in temporary shelters or with relatives, while 30 villages were inaccessible with a threat of waterborne diseases.

Some Greek regions received up to 31 ½ inches more than normally seen in a whole year, the news site said, the central region of Thessaly that produces much of Greece’s food also ruined.