A major forest fire in Greece forces several villages to evacuate
More than 180 firefighters, 15 planes and 12 helicopters were tackling the wildfire in a pine forest in the mountains near Corinth, the fire department said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Weather conditions were particularly tough for firefighters. A heatwave has sent temperatures to around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many parts of the country.
Earlier Tuesday, a firefighting helicopter crashed into the sea and sank while attempting to take on water to tackle a separate fire near Athens. The three crew were rescued and transported to a hospital.
Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers, and the fire department has tackled dozens across the country this year.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned while trying to swim away.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Italy is hit with landslides as flash floods destroy bridge, wash away cars and trigger evacuation after ferocious summer storm
Italy has been inundated by landslides caused by flashfloods that have destroyed bridges, washed away cars and triggered an evacuation. Following powerful summer thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday, the picturesque Passiria Valley in northern Italy was flooded after over 100mm of rain fell in just a few hours. Video footage taken of the floods in the region showed muddied water raging across the land. Roads were submerged in water and mud, trapping cars that tried to ford the flow of rain. One set of photos showed what appeared to be a building site of new homes in the valley having many of their structural materials rushed away by the flash floods. The ground upon which a six-storey building, half-built and still exposed to the elements, was soaked through with water. Rusted metal parts were seen on its roof. Though the damage in the area was extensive, no one was injured or killed by the extreme weather. The regional government said the largest landslide happened in 'an industrial area, where several warehouses, machinery, and work tools were buried, and clearing work is proceeding at full speed.' One set of photos showed what appeared to be a building site of new homes in the valley having many of their structural materials rushed away by the flash floods. One road, shut down due to the weather, remains closed until further notice while a one-way system for cars across the valley has been in place since 5am. Local firefighters deployed ten vehicles, including five bucket excavators and three wheel loaders, to remove six to seven meters of material and clear the blocked passageway so the water could flow in a controlled manner. As Italy is deluged by flashfloods, shocking footage shows the aftermath of deadly wildfires in Cyprus with rows of luxury villas reduced to ashes. Terrified residents were forced to flee in the night as raging flames - fanned by powerful winds and a 40C heatwave - engulfed entire streets to the north of Limassol, a coastal city loved by Brits. One elderly couple were tragically burnt alive as they attempted to flee in their car while rescue teams are frantically searching for missing people and carrying out mass evacuations. The blaze, which hasn't stopped burning since it broke out at midday on Wednesday, has devastated swathes of agricultural and habitable land across the wine–producing region north of the city of Limassol, which sits near popular holiday hotspots. Rows of luxury homes in the Souni region of the island were seen burnt to a crisp. Several trees on the front of properties were seen charred and mangled by the flames. Telegraph poles could be seen askew in the ground, warped by the fires. The inferno is believed to have begun from two points around 300ft apart in an area underneath a bridge where there is a rubbish dump. Local cops are reportedly investigating the cause of the blaze as arson. It has since emerged that two people have died after they were burned alive in their car. Local media has reported that the pair were an elderly couple who were trying to flee the fires, though they have not been formally identified yet.
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- The Guardian
Two more killed amid raging wildfires in Cyprus and Turkey
Two people have been killed in a huge blaze in Cyprus, bringing the death toll from a series of wildfires on the eastern Mediterranean island and in neighbouring Turkey to 12 amid a brutal heatwave that has pushed temperatures to more than 44C. Police said two charred bodies were found on Thursday in a burnt-out car caught up in the Cyprus blaze, which erupted outside Limassol on Wednesday and, fanned by strong winds, rapidly engulfed a string of mountain villages north of the city. The fires, described as the worst on the island in more than half a century, devastated large tracts of southern Cyprus, injuring dozens of people and displacing hundreds. An estimated 250 firefighters battled to contain blazes raging on multiple fronts. The government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said the state 'expresses its deep sorrow … over the unjust loss of two of our fellow citizens', adding that what was happening on the island was unprecedented. After appeals for help from the Nicosia government, Greece, Egypt, Israel and the UK, which has an RAF base on the island, said on Thursday they would be weighing in with air support and firefighters, while the EU was sending in water-bombing planes. By midday, nearly 24 hours after it broke out, the infernos had consumed more than 40 square miles of territory, decimating prime agricultural land and dozens of homes in village communities outside Limassol on the Troodos range. Charalambos Theopemptou, the Green MP who chairs the Cypriot parliament's environmental committee, spoke of a 'tragic situation' with blazes fuelled by extreme high temperatures, gale-force winds and a severe drought. Temperatures nudging 44C were forecast to rise further on Friday as a week-long heatwave intensified across southern Europe. 'We haven't seen such devastating fires since the Turkish invasion in 1974,' Theopemptou told the Guardian. 'It's tragic, people have died, 72 houses and 91 cars have been burned, it's absolute chaos.' He said part of the reason for the destruction was that preventive measures had not been taken, including the implementation of a public warning system that an EU directive voted into law in 2022. 'Illegal waste dumps haven't been cleared, [inflammable] vegetation hasn't been removed, basic infrastructure like big cement water tanks and hose pipe points aren't in place, all of which has helped the fires spread,' he added. At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, the Turkish agriculture and forestry minister, İbrahim Yumakli, said on Thursday, warning that strong winds and scorching heat were creating 'extremely dangerous' conditions across the country. Ten firefighters were killed on Wednesday battling a fire in the western Eskişehir province, with 14 others injured. The fire subsequently spread to Afyonkarahisar, another central province, where several towns and villages were evacuated. The victims were caught when the flames suddenly changed direction, causing them to be 'burned alive', a local MP said. Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday in temperatures ranging between 6C and 12C above the seasonal norms. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth consecutive day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. 'They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky,' Cemil Karadag, a local resident, said. Karadag told Reuters the fire had 'engulfed our village from two or three sides … The firefighters couldn't intervene … It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, the centre of our village wasn't damaged that much'. A wildfire erupted in the Black Sea province of Sakarya, forcing the closure of a key motorway and the evacuation of several villages and small towns, and others in Karabuk, home of the Unesco World Heritage City of Safranbolu, and Manisa. Scientists have long warned that burning fossil fuels is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves more likely and more intense.
The Independent
20 hours ago
- The Independent
Turkey mourns 5 volunteer firefighters killed battling wildfires
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The funerals of five rescue volunteers killed while battling a wildfire were held on Thursday in Turkey's capital. Grieving family and friends of the five members of the AKUT rescue organization were joined by leading politicians and crowds of mourning citizens at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara. They died alongside five forestry workers Wednesday while trying to put out a wildfire raging through a forested area in the northwestern Eskisehir province, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said. At least 14 other rescuers and forestry workers were hospitalized, he said. The bodies of all 10 were earlier brought to a forensic facility in Ankara for identification. The deaths bring the number of fatalities in wildfires that have flared amid strong winds, high temperatures and dry conditions so far in the country this year to 13. Turkey has been battling wildfires since June 26. Yumakli said that winds suddenly changed direction on Wednesday, causing the flames to shift rapidly and surround the forest workers. It wasn't clear what caused the fire. Personal details of those who died emerged, including a 28-year-old forestry worker who had returned to work from his honeymoon just two days earlier. One AKUT volunteer had spent a month rescuing the victims of a catastrophic earthquake that struck southern Turkey in February 2023. Meanwhile, farmers in the neighboring province of Bilecik helped combat a separate fire by running convoys of tractors hauling water tanks to the blaze. An older man and two forestry workers were killed in a wildfire that raged near the town of Odemis, in Izmir province, earlier this month.
