The prosecutor of the Hellenic Supreme Court, Vassilios Pliótas, ordered this Monday (08.09.2021) an investigation to find out whether the serious fires that have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forest and left hundreds of families homeless in recent days were caused by members of a criminal organization.
The suspicions are due to the “synchronization” of the “excessive number of fires, of unusual intensity and scale, which have occurred in recent days, causing incalculable damage to the environment and above all to the country’s forest wealth, buildings, agricultural land and crops, as well as tourist infrastructure,” Pliótas explained.
The fires have already killed two people. The second fatality occurred today when a 70-year-old man helping to put out a fire in Eratini, in the Gulf of Corinth, fell into a ravine with his excavator.
According to local media, the Defense Staff is investigating how Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopters were used in the fight against the fire which has already burned at least 65,000 hectares. These days, the government has been criticized for lack of air resources, especially in the fire of Evia, the second largest island in the country, which is still out of control despite the reinforcement of fire teams as the works are complicated by the dense smoke and turbulence generated by the extreme thermal load.
The mayor of Roviés in northern Evia, Thodoris Keris, told private Mega TV that an estimated 90% of the region’s livelihoods, mainly supported by tourism and agriculture, have been destroyed and ensured that several of the island’s neighbors are preparing a joint trial.
min (afp, ap)
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Heat wave causes forest fires
With temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, Greece and Turkey are currently experiencing an extraordinary heat wave. The result: wildfires of unimaginable magnitude. The winds make it even more difficult to fight the fire, like here north of Athens. There are indications that fires have been started.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
desperate defense
People try to save their possessions with the simplest means, like this man in Thrakomakedones, near Athens. The day before, two people died in fires in the north of the capital. Separately, police arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of arson in Athens’ Krioneri district, Greek news agency ANA reported.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Too little invested?
A Sikorsky S-64 firefighting helicopter moves north of Athens. Critics say the government has invested too little in this type of firefighting aircraft in the past. Also in the Peloponnese, hundreds of hectares burned east of the ancient site of Olympia and in the regions of Mani and Messenia. More than 5,000 residents and tourists had to flee.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
picture of destruction
Early estimates say at least 60,000 hectares or 600 square kilometers have so far burned in the fires in Greece. This was reported by public broadcaster ERT on Saturday, citing the National Observatory in Athens.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Until exhaustion
Many fires, especially on the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Evia, continue to rage uncontrollably. And also in the north of Athens there are several epidemics which still cannot be controlled. Many firefighters only get a short break, and only in the middle of the road.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Volunteers join the rescue
They are also part of the heroes of the Greek tragedy: the volunteers who come to lend a hand. A volunteer can be seen here in Afidnes, near Athens, where temperatures of over 42 degrees Celsius were recently measured.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
A glimmer of hope on the horizon
Large fires in northern Athens were partially brought under control on Saturday. “For the first time we can say that the situation is a little better: there are currently only two fronts of fire,” Nikos Peppas, vice-governor of the Attica region, told Skai television. It is hoped that the fires will soon be brought under control.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
We have to stay together
The past few days have also brought with them devastating wildfires in neighboring Turkey. In particular, the southern and western coastal regions of the country have been badly affected. In the western province of Mugla, Turkey, the fires spread overnight. Here, near Bodrum, firefighters are delighted with a (partial) success in extinguishing the fires.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Continuous operation on the ground and in the air
Also in Turkey, all available firefighting equipment is activated. 5,250 firefighters and more than 80 helicopters, planes and drones, as well as some 1,000 vehicles, are being used to put out the blaze, or so President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
The rain brings hope
A burning car near Antalya. Here in the south-west of the province, it rained heavily on Saturday, as did the city of Manavgat, the city most affected by the fires. According to the authorities, the fires have been brought under control in the meantime.
Author: Friedel Taube
