Why diving into the sea to escape the flames is a risk

The fire ravaging devastating Greece's coastal areas has claimed the lives of 74 people and more than 200 injured so far. The flames of the fires spread so quickly that many citizens chose to flee to the open sea to escape, a very dangerous option.

A few hours ago the emergency services gave a terrible news: He found the calcined bodies of 26 people who were hugging each other in the town of Mati, less than 40 meters away on the side. Firefighters believe that, although they may have tried to find a way out, this group was cornered by flames and decided to fight the united final

Mati est probably the most affected area but the number of victims will increase when the services will agree to check all burnt homes and vehicles and the coast guard travel every inch of the beach or even access with divers to the deep sea.

The last hours in the city were terrible and as the winds blow up to 80 kilometers to the hour, the fires left dozens of vehicles destroyed lined up in the streets, melted by the air. heat intensity. Many bodies lie on the roadsides.

The luckiest of the region could jump cliffs to survive or run to the sea from the beach. As told to the media Kostas Laganos, a middle-aged survivor:

We went to the sea because the flames chased us to the water. They burned our backs and we immersed ourselves in the water.

The Laganos scenario is very similar to that of dozens of Mati residents, who have verified that even the sea is not a safe place for a fire of this magnitude. Many of them, tired and on the edge of their strength, struggled to get into the sea, a scenario where almost no one realized that it also required a new and titanic effort.

Gusts of wind made entry into the water dangerous. The flames spread in bursts and the tide washed away several in a few minutes. Mr. Stavrinidis, his wife and some of his friends swam as far as possible to escape the smoke, but when they did, they began to be swept away by the wind and the current. In a very short time they lost sight of the shore and became disoriented.

Not only that. The hurricane winds that fanned the flames in the area also hindered firefighting efforts and destroyed the seas. " We did not succeed ," Stavrinidis told the media. One of the women in her group and the son of another woman drowned on the road. On average, those who stayed near the shore were in the water for about two hours before a fishing boat picked them up.

Many are also wondering how this could be in an area next to the sea. May it happen Unfortunately, fire is unpredictable in the event of a hurricane wind. To this we must add that sea water is not the solution to extinguish a fire.

Salt, because of the large amount of salinity it contains, generates corrosion in metals, so damage to the machinery could be irreversible in the mix. The chemical reaction would produce an oxidation that would damage the metals.

On the other hand, damage to agriculture is deadly because it affects the pH of the soil, so plants that grow there could die. grow after many years. In forest issues, the damage may not be so severe, as trees may grow back over time if the soil is treated, but the greatest damage occurs in small plantations.

Obviously, in emergency situations, when there is no water available and that human lives are in danger, it can be used. But it is always important to avoid the soil alteration that it produces and subsequent damage to crops. [ABCNews, Quora]