Coastguard and police continue to scour land and sea for Michele Bourda, who was last seen on a sunbed

A mammoth search-and-rescue operation for a British woman last seen lounging on a sunbed in Greece has intensified days after her “mysterious” disappearance.

The Hellenic coastguard, backed by a flotilla of pleasure craft and fishing boats, has fanned across the waters off Ofrynio beach near the northern town of Kavala, where Michele Bourda, 59, went missing on 1 August.

“The search is very much on, with a patrol vessel and other recreational boats out scouring the seas all along the Strymonian Gulf,” said a coastguard official. “Three days may have elapsed, but there are no plans to call off the operation yet.”

While vessels combed the sea on Monday, police also continued an extensive search on land, authorities said.