Over 400 Greek firefighters battle wildfire on Chios for third day
Hundreds of firefighters backed by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Greek island of Chios on Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders.
Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos.
By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support.
Emergency services have issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area since Sunday, when fires broke out near the island's main town.
The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze.
"We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island, a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental," Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said on Monday.
Authorities, he said, were "very seriously examining the possibility of an organised criminal act, in other words arson."
The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.
"Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court," Kefalogiannis said. "Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such."
Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee.
More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
21 hours ago
- Euronews
Over 400 Greek firefighters battle wildfire on Chios for third day
Hundreds of firefighters backed by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Greek island of Chios on Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders. Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos. By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support. Emergency services have issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area since Sunday, when fires broke out near the island's main town. The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze. "We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island, a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental," Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said on Monday. Authorities, he said, were "very seriously examining the possibility of an organised criminal act, in other words arson." The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled. "Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court," Kefalogiannis said. "Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such." Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
Euronews
5 days ago
- Euronews
Over 600 migrants rescued from two fishing boats off southern Greece
More than 600 migrants were rescued overnight and into Friday morning from two overcrowded wooden fishing vessels found adrift off the southernmost part of Greece, the Greek coast guard has said. The first vessel, carrying 352 people, was located around 55 kilometres (35 miles) south of Gavdos, a small Greek island. The passengers were rescued by a vessel from the EU's border agency Frontex, supported by a coast guard patrol boat and four additional ships. A further 278 people were discovered on a second boat approximately 90 kilometres (60 miles) south of Crete. Those aboard were transferred onto a passing Portuguese-flagged cargo ship. In both instances, the migrants were taken to Crete for processing. The authorities have not yet disclosed the nationalities of the rescued individuals. Two additional migrant boats were located in the same parts of the Mediterranean on Thursday. One was discovered carrying 73 men south of Gavdos, while the other, found near Crete's southern coast, had 26 people on board, including a woman and three children. Passengers from the smaller of these two vessels said they had departed from Tobruk, Libya, the night before, each reportedly paying smugglers €4,000 for the perilous journey, according to the Greek coast guard. Two Sudanese teenagers, aged 16 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of migrant trafficking after passengers identified them as the boat's operators. Greece continues to be a key entry point to the EU for people escaping conflict and hardship in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Arrivals surged last year, with over 60,000 migrants landing in Greece — the majority by sea — compared to around 48,000 in 2023, according to UN refugee agency data. By mid-June 2025, Greece had recorded 16,290 arrivals, over 14,600 of which were by sea. With Greek authorities stepping up patrols along the eastern maritime border with Turkey, traffickers appear to be increasingly choosing the longer and more dangerous route across the Mediterranean from North Africa, using larger boats capable of carrying more people. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday announced the use of a super-heavy Sejil missile as part of what it said was the 12th wave of strikes on Israel. Despite its frequent appearance in the Tehran regime's military parades since it was reportedly brought into service in 2012, the Sejil missile's launch against Israel marks the first time one of its prized assets was used in direct confrontation. Its real-world application also reveals a shift in gears in Tehran's deterrence calculations and response. The Sejil, or "Brimstone", is classified as a surface-to-surface ballistic missile and was developed entirely inside Iran by the Ministry of Defence-run Aerospace Industries Organisation. Although some reports claimed that Tehran used similar Chinese-made missiles as a technical basis for the Sejil, its size and other features suggest it is entirely designed and produced in Iran. The missile, developed to replace the Shabab class of rockets in service since the late 1980s, has a range of about 2,000 kilometres and uses solid fuel as propellant, making it quicker to launch compared to liquid-fueled equivalents. The Sejil is manoeuvrable in all stages of flight, making it difficult to intercept by conventional air defence systems. Although details on its speed are unclear, Tehran reportedly stated that it is capable of reaching Tel Aviv in approximately seven minutes if launched from central Iran. In terms of technical specifications, reports say it measures 25 metres in length, 1.25 metres in diameter, and weighs approximately 2.3 metric tonnes. It can carry warheads weighing up to 700 kilograms and is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The Sejil first appeared in a field test in 2008, before its improved version, the Sejil-2, was developed in 2009. In this version, the warhead design was modified, and guidance wings were added to enhance accuracy. However, some reports claim that Sejil-2 might not be a separate model, but rather a test name for the same rocket. Yet footage from 2021 military exercises featuring the Sejil shows updates to earlier missiles of the same model have been made, notably to its jet vanes. Furthermore, rumours of another updated model, the Sejil-3, say that a more modern version was developed with a maximum range of 4,000 kilometres, meaning that in theory it could almost reach Brussels from Tehran. Israeli authorities said on Thursday that the Sejil was successfully intercepted, with debris causing damage to a vehicle.
France 24
12-06-2025
- France 24
Egypt detains more than 200 activists ahead of Gaza aid march
Egyptian authorities have detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists in Cairo ahead of an international march aiming to break Israel 's blockade on Gaza, organisers said Thursday. Thousands of people taking part in the Global March to Gaza planned to travel to Egypt 's Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian territory on Friday to call for increased humanitarian aid access. "Over 200 participants were detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels across Cairo," the march's spokesperson, Saif Abukeshek, told AFP. The detainees included people from Algeria, Australia, France, Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States, he said. Plainclothes officers entered Cairo hotels on Wednesday with lists of names, questioning activists, and in some cases, confiscating phones and searching personal belongings, said Abukeshek. "After interrogations, some were arrested and others were released." At Cairo airport, some detainees were held for hours without explanation, Abukeshek said, adding others were deported, without specifying how many. More than 20 French activists who had planned to join the march were held at Cairo airport for 18 hours, he said. "What happened was completely unexpected," Abukeshek said. Footage shared with AFP showed dozens of people with their luggage crammed inside a holding room at the airport. "We're locked up here in this room with so many people -- some 30-40 people," a German national said in one video. "I called the embassy and they told me their people are trying to figure things out," she said. Another video obtained by AFP shows more than 30 people aboard a deportation flight from Cairo chanting in French: "The world is with you... Gaza... Gaza". One French traveller, who was briefly detained and released early Thursday, told AFP he had been held in a room at Cairo airport with around 15 others. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he saw between 50 and 60 people being stopped, including elderly people and families. The Greek contingent said in a statement that dozens of Greek nationals were among those held at Cairo airport, but were later released after 10 hours in custody. The Global March to Gaza said several people were being released after diplomatic staff arrived at Cairo airport to provide "consular assistance to the detained participants". Cairo Security Directorate chief Tarek Rashid did not respond to an AFP request for comment. Pressure After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, which the United Nations has dubbed "the hungriest place on Earth". Another convoy dubbed Soumoud, or steadfastness in Arabic, left the Tunisian capital on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt -- which organisers say has yet to provide passage permits -- to reach Gaza. The Soumoud convoy arrived in Tripoli -- the Libyan capital controlled by the internationally recognised government -- on Wednesday. It remains uncertain whether the convoy will be allowed into eastern Libya which is controlled by rival forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar. The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said around 4,000 participants from more than 40 countries would take part in the event, with many having already arrived ahead of the Friday march. Watch more Children shot and wounded at aid distribution centre in Gaza According to the plan, participants are set to travel by bus to the city of El-Arish in the heavily secured Sinai Peninsula before walking 50 kilometres (30 miles) towards the border with Gaza. They would then camp there before returning to Cairo on June 19. Israel has called on Egyptian authorities "to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border". Such actions "would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed", Defence Minister Israel Katz said. In response, Egypt's foreign ministry said that while it backs efforts to put "pressure on Israel", any foreign delegations visiting the border area must receive approval through official channels. "We will continue despite what happened because the current numbers in Egypt and those expected to arrive are enough to organise this march," Abukeshek said.
