Greece mourns wildfire victims
Death toll set to rise as neighbours extend helping hand
GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning for dozens of people killed by wildfires that swept through seaside areas near Athens. The official death toll yesterday from the deadly fires that broke out on Monday stood at 50. There were fears the toll could rise as rescue crews searched through the charred remains of houses, while the coastguard scoured the seas. Many people fled to beaches, with some swimming out to sea to escape the choking smoke. More than 700 people were evacuated from beaches.
“Today Greece is mourning, and in memory of those who were lost; we are declaring a three-day period of mourning,” Tsipras said.
“But we mustn’t let mourning overwhelm us, because these hours are hours of battle, unity, courage and above all solidarity.”
Turkey has offered to send firefighting aircraft to neighbouring Greece after twin wildfires tore through areas near Athens.
Speaking in Northern Cyprus yesterday, Turkey’s foreign minister said Turkish planes and helicopters were on standby to aid Greece. Mevlut Cavusoglu said his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias thanked him for the offer but said assistance was not currently needed.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences and said his country was ready to help.
Besides the death toll of 50, more than 100 were injured in the fires.
The Spanish government said it had sent two amphibious planes to help fight the twin forest fires in seaside areas of Greece.
The ravaged country sought international help through the EU as fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.
Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture said that each of the two Canadair-type planes dispatched yesterday could carry 5.5 tons of water and they were piloted by members of the country’s air force.
The ministry said that the decision to dispatch the planes was made only after an assessment of Spain’s own need for them.
The country was also prone to destructive wildfires every year, when dry and hot summers can be accompanied by strong winds that quickly spread the flames.
Greece’s fire department confirmed 49 people had died in forest fires that have swept through popular seaside holiday areas near the capital.
Fire department spokesperson Stavroula Malliri added that 156 adults and 16 children were hospitalised with injuries. Eleven of the adults were in serious condition.
Malliri said yesterday that strong winds had fanned the flames, with the fires spreading rapidly into inhabited areas, preventing people who were in their homes or in their cars from fleeing.
Greece requested firefighting help from the EU, and Malliri said a military transport plane was expected with 60 firefighters from Cyprus, while two water-dropping planes were expected from Spain.
There were fears the death toll would rise significantly. Rescue crews working through the charred areas of where the fire had passed told the media that at first light, they had found the bodies of more than 20 people gathered in one place near a beach. – AP