June 22, 2024 – 9:48 pm
Grave crosses are visible in forest fires in the village of Latas, Greece, on June 22, 2024 – Photograph: Giorgos Motavis/Reuters
Greek authorities arrested 13 people after a forest fire broke out on the Greek island of Idra. According to the authorities, fireworks launched from a yacht caused the fire that destroyed the only pine forest on the famous tourist island south of Athens, as I wrote. BBC.
Wildfires are sweeping across the islands of Andros and Salamina, as well as other parts of Greece, as hundreds of firefighters across the country on Saturday battled blazes fanned by stormy winds.
More than 30 firefighters extinguished the fires in Andros, located on the Aegean Sea, with the help of two planes and five helicopters. Four settlements on the island were evacuated as a precaution. According to a fire department spokesman, additional reinforcements are expected to arrive during the day. There were no reports of injuries or property damage.
Several forest fires are also sweeping through the Peloponnese peninsula, and a 55-year-old man died in hospital on Friday, after suffering burns in Ilia, in the western part of the peninsula.
On Saturday, firefighters were able to control forest fires on Salamina Island, located west of Athens and 30 kilometers east of the capital.
