In Greece, the island of Euboea was burned for seven days

They’ve been running for seven days big fires On the island of Evia, the second largest island in Greece, located east of Athens. In recent weeks, several fires have broken out in Greece, catching fire More than 56 thousand hectares of land, but the ones on Euboea were the largest and most difficult to put down. And firefighters are still trying to put out the flames in the north and south of the island: in particular, the fires in the north were ignited by strong winds that pushed them to the tourist resorts on the coasts.

The Coast Guard evacuated more than 2,000 people by sea, only 349 of them on Sunday.

On Saturday evening, the fire reached the town of Bfaki, located on the northern tip of the island, and destroyed at least one house, but firefighters were able to put out the fire and rescue local residents and tourists who flocked to the city these days. . The ferry that was sent to Pefki to evacuate people by sea was used as a temporary shelter, and many people spent Sunday nights on board.

Nikos Hardalias, Greece’s deputy civil protection minister, said the rescue on the island of Epoya was particularly difficult, especially because pilots of firefighting planes and helicopters had to travel with limited visibility due to the huge smoke from the flames and so intense. Wind. 500 firefighters work on the island, of whom about 200 were sent from Ukraine and Romania, but many Euboea residents complained about the slowness and insufficient resources in the rescue operation.

Terrifying footage of a ferry carrying passengers fleeing the shores of Lake Evia inland #Greece. pic.twitter.com/5H9jzapXl0

– Dino Sophos August 7, 2021

The Greek government also deployed the army to fight the fires that broke out across the country, and various countries including France, Egypt, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom sent aid, personnel and aircraft.

Other areas affected by fires in Greece are the Peloponnese, Attica, Phocis and the Athens region. North of Athens, there have been many fires in the Barnet Mountains, home of a natural forest park, where the situation seems to be under control at the moment: in this latest fire, a firefighter died after hitting a tower, and at least 20 people were injured and treated in hospital: Two firefighters were taken to the hospital in intensive care.

The causes of the fires are still unknown and investigations are underway: Greek police spokesman, Apostolos Skrekas, said that 10 people, including a 71-year-old man from the Messinia region of Peloponnese, have been arrested for arson. Nine others were questioned.

– Read also: Are the Greek fires the fault of Europe?