Firefighters battle blaze near Athens for second day
Evacuations, fatalities, and weather warnings
Dozens of residents and elderly care home occupants were evacuated late Friday as the fire approached the coastal resort town of Palaia Fokaia. Firefighters later found the body of an elderly man in a hut near Keratea; he reportedly died in his bed.
Tragedy also struck on the island of Milos, where gale-force winds caused the deaths of two Vietnamese tourists at Sarakiniko beach. The 61-year-old woman fell into the sea, and a 65-year-old man drowned trying to save her, according to the coastguard.
The National Observatory in Athens reported that strong winds will continue through at least Monday. On Friday, the extreme weather disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of tourists, although a sailing ban at Athens ports was lifted on Saturday.
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Sharjah 24
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- Sharjah 24
Firefighters battle blaze near Athens for second day
A new fire broke out near the town of Kouvaras but was quickly brought under control. However, the main blaze in Keratea, which started Friday, has already devastated nearly 10,000 acres of brush and forest, according to Lavrio mayor Dimitris Loukas. "Many homes were destroyed, in addition to other properties, agricultural and forest land," he told the state news agency ANA. Evacuations, fatalities, and weather warnings Dozens of residents and elderly care home occupants were evacuated late Friday as the fire approached the coastal resort town of Palaia Fokaia. Firefighters later found the body of an elderly man in a hut near Keratea; he reportedly died in his bed. Tragedy also struck on the island of Milos, where gale-force winds caused the deaths of two Vietnamese tourists at Sarakiniko beach. The 61-year-old woman fell into the sea, and a 65-year-old man drowned trying to save her, according to the coastguard. The National Observatory in Athens reported that strong winds will continue through at least Monday. On Friday, the extreme weather disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of tourists, although a sailing ban at Athens ports was lifted on Saturday.
Al Etihad
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8 Aug 2025 20:24 ATHENS (REUTERS/AFP) Three people, including two Vietnamese tourists, died in Greece on Friday as ferocious winds whipped up wildfires and disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakersMore than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a blaze in Keratea, southeast of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television."It's a difficult fire," he said, citing gusts of wind and reporting that several communities had been discovered the body of an elderly person inside their burned home in Keratea, and the wind was hampering water bombers' ability to operate, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a press AFP journalist in the nearby town of Palaia Fokaia, around 45 kilometres south of Athens, saw fire consume a house and thick smoke choke the planes, 12 helicopters and 170 firefighters were deployed around Keratea, 30 kilometres southwest of the capital, and residents were called to evacuate, the fire brigade of the area has seen barely a drop of rain in months. Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour fanned the fire, setting olive tree orchards alight. Images on local media showed houses engulfed in flames.|Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure in Keratea, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing."The fire is advancing. In some places, only aerial firefighting is possible," Yiannis Schizas, a member of the Civil Protection in the area, told SKAI TV."There is too much wind. It is becoming a mess," he winds are expected through the weekend and the touristy island of Kefalonia, in western Greece, a wildfire was out of control, burning forests and farmland, authorities and local media said. Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach. Parched southern France is currently facing its worst wildfire in decades.
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Greece battles major wildfires amid persistent heatwave
26 July 2025 20:06 ATHENS (AFP) Greek emergency services were battling many wildfires on Saturday afternoon as a week-long heatwave peaked with temperatures surpassing 45°C. According to firefighters, one of the most difficult fronts was around Drosopigi in northern Attica, just 30 kilometres north of called for an evacuation of the village, while according to state-run Ertnews TV, a house was already under fire in Drosopigi, as winds of 5 to 6 Beaufort raged. Authorities had warned of an extreme risk of wildfires on Saturday, placing several regions under a red Category 5 alert, the highest on the national scale, due to hot and dry conditions.A week-long heatwave in Greece that began Monday was expected to last until this Monday, according to the country's weather service. The National Observatory in Athens said the warmest temperature recorded on Friday was 45.8°C in the Peloponnese region of Messinia, while on Saturday the temperature reached 45.2°C in Amfilohia, western Greece. Some 100 firefighters were fighting the blaze around Drosopigi with 36 vehicles, two aircraft and three helicopters, according to the Athens News Agency. In the island of Evia, near Athens' Attica region, a fire was also raging out of control. Two fire engines were destroyed while two firemen were taken to the hospital with mild injuries. A wildfire that broke out shortly before 9:30 am (0630 GMT) on Saturday in an agricultural and forested area on the island of Kythera, in southern Greece, was also out of control. Strong winds are causing the fire to spread rapidly and prompting evacuations of several reinforce local firefighters, 16 firefighters and six fire engines were shipped to Messinia, in the Peloponnese, a fire began at approximately 12:08 pm local time and quickly grew out of control. Currently, 84 firefighters are operating in the area, with 30 fire trucks, with aerial support from seven aircraft and two helicopters. Large parts of Attica, Evia and the Peloponnese remain under the highest alert.
