Two people died and hundreds of residents and beachgoers were evacuated on Aug 16 after two fires broke out on the Greek island of Salamis, near Athens, according to the country's fire department.
Two dead, hundreds evacuated as fires break out on Greek island of Salamis
Two people died and hundreds of residents and beachgoers were evacuated on Aug 16 after two fires broke out on the Greek island of Salamis, near Athens, according to the country's fire department.
A fire department spokesman told AFP that two bodies were recovered from the Peristeria beach area in the south of the island. The civil protection ministry issued four evacuation orders in rapid succession after the fires broke out almost simultaneously in Peristeria and Selinia, two coastal areas in the island's south and east, according to fire department deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios.
Artopios described the situation as 'a difficult fire... inside an inhabited area,' and said some roads remained open with police guiding people to safety. Salamina deputy mayor Thodoris Zannis told state broadcaster ERT that local officials were working to prevent the two fires from merging by spreading over a mountain between them.
The fire service deployed approximately 200 firefighters, nearly 50 engines, six aircraft, and seven helicopters, drawing reinforcements from the mainland, Artopios said. Greece's coastguard dispatched five patrol boats, and several private vessels including ferries were made available. The fire department also deployed two vessels, Artopios said.
Greece has experienced several major wildfires since late July, fuelled by strong winds. Thirty-four fires broke out across the country in the 24 hours preceding the Salamis blazes, according to the fire department. Five firefighters have died in wildfires so far, including a Danish pilot killed in a mid-air collision between two Bell helicopters while battling a separate blaze near Athens earlier in August.
- The source does not state the identities of the two people whose bodies were recovered.
- The source does not state the cause or origin of either fire.
- The source does not provide a total count of people successfully evacuated.
- The source does not state the current containment status of the Salamis fires at the time of publication.
- The source does not state the extent of property damage caused by the fires.
Read the original at The Straits Times