Greek firefighters are battling Wednesday, for the fifth straight day and on multiple fronts, a fire that has already killed at least twenty people, mostly migrants. Catastrophes cover Athens with thick black smoke.
Nineteen suspected migrants were among the dead, including two children, according to police. Rumors on social networks blame immigrants for the start of the fire, the origin of which has not yet been determined.
A fire is consuming the foothills of Mount Barnes (Barnita in Greek), the second of the three mountains surrounding Athens and a national park with the largest forest near the Greek capital.
eviction order
On Wednesday morning, evacuation orders were issued for the new neighborhood where three nursing homes are located in Menidi, a suburb of Athens.
The flames reached the first houses in Menidi, not far from a military base. They also destroyed houses and property in nearby suburbs of Hasia and Filey.
“Many people refuse to leave their homes,” Nikos Kountromichalis, a member of the Greek Red Cross, complained on public television ERT.
“We saw elderly people passed out in their yards,” added the official in Menidi, adding that the Red Cross was treating several people for burns and respiratory problems.
A detention center for migrants in Amygdalesa, 25 km north of Athens, had to be evacuated.
never seen
Greek firefighters have had to fight 350 fires in the past five days, including 200 in the past 48 hours, Civil Defense Minister Vassilis Kigilias told a news conference.
“In 32 years of service I’ve never seen anything this serious,” Greek fire chief Yorgos Pournaras said, adding that the Mt Barnes fire was still spreading minutes after bombers arrived on the scene from the water.
Black smoke over Athens
The Greek capital woke up on Wednesday choking on the smell of burning, thick black smoke covering the sky. “Unfortunately, the wind did not help us,” Menidi deputy mayor Stathis Topalidis told state television ERT.
On Tuesday, civil defense ordered the evacuation of the district of Ano Leosia, home to about 25,000 people and located near Filey, northwest of Athens. However, residents remained at home to protect their homes.
“The conditions are difficult and sometimes extreme,” commented Yannis Artopios, a spokesman for the Greek Fire Service.
Another fire was still burning on land in the industrial area of Asprophyrkos, west of Athens. A nearby neighborhood had to be evacuated Wednesday morning.
Threatened National Park
In the country’s northeast, near the border with Turkey in the Evros River region, two wildfires raged in the port city of Alexandroupoli and in the Tadiya forest, threatening the national park of the same name. of prey. A fresh evacuation order was issued in the area during the night.
On Tuesday, 18 suspected migrants – including two children, according to police – were found dead near the Dauk border, north of Alexandroupoli. Earlier in the day, the bodies of a suspected migrant in Lefkimi near Alexandroupoli and the bodies of an elderly shepherd in Boeotia were found in burned areas.
Accused immigrants
Rumors are spreading on social media about migrants. Three people were arrested Tuesday in the country’s north, accused of loading undocumented immigrants into a truck trailer and setting it on fire. The trio posted a video of their act on social media and invited people to follow them.
Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor on Wednesday ordered the local prosecutor’s office to investigate the causes of the fire and allegations of racism.
And without islands
Flames are still burning in the Aegean islands of Euboea and Kythnos, in Boeotia north of Athens and in the west of the country. Another fire on the Aegean island of Samothrace was brought under control overnight on Tuesday, but the island remains without electricity.
The National Observatory of Athens reported that more than 40,000 hectares were destroyed by fire in the three days between August 19 and 21.
Extreme heat and dry weather conditions that increase fire risk will continue into Friday, the weather service said.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ats / afp