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In a region of northern Greece where wildfires have been raging for days, firefighters on Tuesday discovered the burned bodies of 18 persons who they believe to have been migrants who had crossed the Turkish border.
As hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires around the nation amid gale-force winds, the finding was made close to Alexandroupolis. Two persons perished and two firefighters were hurt in separate fires that broke out on Monday in northern and central Greece.
Southern European nations are particularly prone to wildfires due to their hot, dry summers. Although no injuries or property damage have been reported, a large fire has been blazing over Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands for the past week.
European Union officials note that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire destruction on record after 2017 and attribute the increase in frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe to climate change.
According to a fire department official, Ioannis Artopios, police in Greece launched the nation’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit to identify the 18 remains that were discovered close to a shanty in the Avantas district.
In order to reach the European Union, migrants frequently travel through Alexandroupolis, which is close to the Turkish border. These people are fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
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Greek President Expresses Grief as Wildfires Ravage Communities
Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the president of Greece, expressed her sincere sadness over the fatalities.
Overnight, when a huge wall of flames raced through the woodlands into Alexandroupolis, authorities were forced to order the evacuation of eight additional villages as well as the city’s hospital.
A ferry boat in the city’s harbor picked up about 65 of the hospital’s more than 100 patients, while others were moved to other hospitals in northern Greece.
Tuesday saw numerous new fires start, including ones in a wooded area northwest of Athens and an industrial area on the western outskirts of the capital.
As flames spread to warehouses and factories in Aspropyrgos’ industrial district, small explosions could be heard. Officials ordered the evacuation of surrounding communities and closed a route.
Although 56 Romanian firemen and two aircraft from Cyprus arrived on Monday, five water-dropping planes from Croatia, Germany, and Sweden, as well as a helicopter, 58 firefighters, and nine water tanks, arrived in Greece on Tuesday. On Monday, French firemen assisted in putting out a fire on the island of Evia.
In 2018, the deadliest wildfire in Greece killed 104 people in a coastal resort close to Athens, when residents had not been given advance notice to leave. Since then, when inhabited areas are threatened, authorities have erred on the side of caution and have quickly ordered mass evacuations.
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Source: Fox News
