Athens: Firefighting planes and helicopters were in continuous operation in Greece, where emergency services continued to battle fierce forest fires across several parts of the country on Sunday. The area north of Athens, the islands of Euboea, Kythira and Crete, and the Peloponnese peninsula are particularly affected, the meteorological service said on Sunday.
According to Ghana News Agency, several houses have been destroyed or damaged by the flames in northern Athens since Saturday. Authorities say there is no longer an active fire front in the area, but individual pockets of embers continue to flare up. The situation on Euboea remained critical, with villages evacuated and livestock farms destroyed. Six firefighters were taken to hospital with injuries. The flames were also out of control on Kythira, where authorities said 139 people had been evacuated.
Houses, a church and vehicles burned in the port city of Chania on the island of Crete, but the fire there is now partially under control. In the hilly region near Kyparissia on the Peloponnese peninsula, changing winds have hampered the firefighting efforts, Greek media reported.
Firefighters were able to bring the blazes in the north of Athens in particular under control. Dozens of injured people were taken to hospital, according to media reports. Most of the cases involved smoke inhalation. However, authorities cannot give the all-clear yet, the fire brigade said. Meteorologists warned that due to the persistent drought, a single spark is enough to cause a wildfire.
The Greek government has requested assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help fight the fires raging in various parts of the country. 'We have requested six firefighting aircraft,' fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told Greek radio on Sunday. He said two aircraft were expected to arrive from Italy. Authorities remain on high alert nationwide, with meteorologists warning of a high risk of fire. Although Greece itself has more than 80 firefighting helicopters and aeroplanes, these are strategically distributed throughout the country, due to the persistently high risk of forest fires.
