In southern Europe, there are more and more forest fires due to the heat and drought. A fire on Samos in Greece is currently raging particularly badly.
Samos/Athens – While many regions in Greece are still warning of a “very high risk of forest fires”, a violent forest fire is raging on the island of Samos for the second day in a row. Although firefighters and volunteers fought the flames all night, the flames continue to rage in the west of the island, reports the German Press Agency.
On Thursday morning (July 14), the fire-fighting helicopters and planes would have resumed work. The military and the local government supported the emergency services with construction machines and water tankers in the fight against the flames. In addition to the devastating fires, a dramatic accident during the extinguishing work also shook the island on Wednesday.
Heat and drought cause forest fires: crashed fire-fighting helicopter in Greece
For reasons that are still unclear, a fire-fighting helicopter crashed from a low altitude while attempting to collect seawater. Two of the four occupants were found dead, and the pilot was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Another man is still missing, according to agency reports. The dead are said to be a Romanian crew member and a Greek translator.
In order to avoid further victims of the forest fires on Samos, the first villages were evacuated in the evening. A total of 14 fire-fighting trains, three fire-fighting aircraft and two fire-fighting helicopters were deployed on Wednesday to fight the severe forest fire in the very west of the island. The flames and the huge clouds of smoke were visible to guests and locals from afar.
Severe forest fire danger in Europe: warnings for Greece, Italy and France
The fact that the fire is still out of control is due not only to the persistent heat and drought in the region, but also to strong winds, which make the work of the fire brigades more difficult. The day before, 35 forest fires had been registered across Greece within 24 hours. In addition to Greece, temperatures of up to 40 degrees and a high risk of forest fires are also reported in France and Italy for the coming days. (ska with dpa)
