Body found in charred car in Rio de Janiero 'thought to be Greek ambassador to Brazil'

Kyriakos Amiridis missing since Wednesday

A car rented by Greek ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis (Globo)

A body found in a charred car in Rio de Janeiro is thought to be that of Kyriakos Amiridis, Greece's ambassador to Brazil.

Mr Amiridis, 59, went missing on Wednesday following a party with his wife's friends, it was reported.

Brazilian TV channel Globo showed images of a burned-out white car in the Nova Iguaçu neighbourhood and reported that the licence plates matched those of Mr Amiridis' rental vehicle.

A Rio state police official told Reuters the ambassador's wife reported him as missing on Wednesday.

Police inspector Evaristo Pontes previously told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper he did not think Mr Amiridis was kidnapped.

He said: "If it had been (a kidnapping), those who took him would have made contact by now."

The body has been taken to the Legal Medical Institute of Nova Iguaçu, Globo said. Police reportedly suspect it is that of Mr Amiridis.

Mr Amiridis was Greek ambassador to Libya from 2012 until this year, when he took up the post in Brazil.