Greece wildfire claims eighteen lives

author: FutureCar Staff    

Authorities in northeastern Greece have discovered the bodies of 18 people during their search for a major wildfire that has been burning out of control for four days. There is speculation that the group may have been migrants who entered the country illegally through the nearby border. The wildfires in Greece have been exacerbated by strong winds, and firefighters are currently battling multiple blazes across the country. In addition to the wildfires in Greece, a major blaze has been burning in Tenerife, Spain's Canary Islands, for a week.

European Union officials have attributed the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe to climate change. They have noted that 2022 was the second-worst year on record for wildfire damage, following 2017. The Greek police have activated the country's Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the bodies found near a shack in the Avanta area. The possibility that these are individuals who entered the country illegally is currently being investigated.

The city of Alexandroupolis, located near Greece's border with Turkey, is often a route taken by individuals seeking to enter the European Union from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Many villages and settlements in the area, including Avanta, have been under evacuation orders due to the wildfires. Overnight, flames raced towards Alexandroupolis, leading to the evacuation of eight additional villages and the city's hospital.

Over 100 patients from the hospital were transported to a ferry boat in the city's port, while others were taken to hospitals in northern Greece. The decision to evacuate the hospital was made due to the smoke and ash in the air. The coast guard also evacuated 40 people from beach areas west of Alexandroupolis by sea.

Multiple new fires broke out in Greece on Tuesday, including in woodland northwest of Athens and an industrial area on the western fringes of the capital. The flames reached warehouses and factories in the industrial area of Aspropyrgos, causing small explosions. Nearby villages were evacuated, and a highway was closed.

Greece has requested assistance from the European Union's civil protection mechanism due to the stretched firefighting forces. Several countries, including Croatia, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Cyprus, have sent firefighting resources to Greece. France has also dispatched firefighters to help tackle a blaze on the island of Evia.

The fire risk level in several regions, including the wider Athens area, remains "extreme." Public access to mountains and forests in these regions has been banned, and military patrols have been ordered. In Tenerife, Spain, firefighters continue to battle a wildfire that has already burned a third of the island's woodlands.

FutureCar Staff