Great fires near Athens 20 dead – Civil defense of Greece speaks of "worst case scenario"
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Firefighters fight a forest fire near Athens. Residents had to be evacuated
Source: dpa / Eurokinissi
Out-of-control forest fires near Athens cost at least 20 lives. Clouds of dense smoke weigh on the capital, people are fleeing into the sea and waiting for their help. Greece has sought the help of the EU.
D The fires that broke out near Athens claimed the lives of at least 20 people and took a fatal toll for many Greeks. Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said Tuesday morning on television that 90 people were injured by the flaming flames in the west and east of the capital, some of them dead. between them seriously affected
. new charred corpses are being discovered in various parts of eastern Athens. The emergency was declared in Greater Athens
In the port city of Rafina, flames penetrated into the city center. Thousands of people have fled the area. Hundreds escaped the flames in the sea. For hours, fishermen and pbading ships took people out of the water. In the port of Rafina, dozens of people showed photos of their relatives and asked pbaders-by if they had seen them
The sun blackened by smoke
The fires were so thick that clouds smoked on Athens and darkened the sun. Thousands of Athenians have their apartments in the western and eastern region of the capital. Several mayors told the press that more than 200 houses and hundreds of cars had been destroyed or damaged in the east of Athens “/>
A fire in Athens
Source: dpa / Aristidis Vafeiadakis [19659018] "The worst case scenario has arrived," Giannis Kapakis, head of the Greek Civil Defense Department, said on television. The flames raged in a densely wooded area of pines, where there are holiday homes everywhere. Many residents fled in panic, and several children's camps had to be evacuated. Electricity, telephone and internet dropped in some areas. Due to the strong smoke, the road and the railway line between Athens and Corinth have been closed.
"We can not take stock yet," police officers told reporters on numerous occasions. Greece has asked for help from other EU countries, said FBI spokesman Tsipras on Monday evening
Tsipras stops visiting the government
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prematurely interrupted a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "My thoughts are with people and forces," he told Greek TV channel ERT. He expressed the suspicion that the arsonists might be behind the fires. Tsipras has ordered that fire departments from other regions as well as the military come to Athens to help, as reported state radio.
At the present time, temperatures in Greece are about 40 degrees. In addition, wind gusts of magnitude seven blow in the affected area.
For firefighters, volunteers and the military, it is aggravating to have to fight the flames at night without the help of airplanes and helicopters. "It will be a long night," said a firefighter on television.
