Deadly wildfires tore through the Greek island of Salamis near Athens, forcing hundreds to flee as two blazes ignited almost at the same time, authorities said.
A fire department spokesman told AFP that “two bodies were recovered” in the Peristeria beach area in the south of the island. The grim discovery came shortly after the service announced that hundreds of people had been urgently evacuated.
“There are hundreds of bathers and permanent residents, an evacuation order has been issued,” the agency’s deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT.
Mr Artopios said the civil protection ministry sent out four evacuation orders in rapid succession as fires erupted “almost simultaneously” in Peristeria and Selinia, both well-known swimming spots on the island’s south and east coasts.
“It is a difficult fire… inside an inhabited area,” he said.
Despite the emergency, some routes remained passable, and police were deployed to direct people away from danger, Mr Artopios added.
Officials on the island were also working to prevent the two fronts from pushing up a mountain and converging, Salamina deputy mayor Thodoris Zannis told the broadcaster.
To confront the fast-moving flames, the fire service assembled a major response: about 200 firefighters, nearly 50 engines, six aircraft and seven helicopters, with additional crews rushed in from the mainland, Mr Artopios said.
Greece’s coastguard said it had sent five patrol boats to the area, while other private vessels — including ferries — were being put on standby to assist if needed.
The fire department also deployed two vessels, Mr Artopios said.
Greece, which largely avoided the extreme heatwave that blanketed much of Europe earlier this summer, has faced a string of serious wildfires since late July, driven by unusually strong winds.
On the Aegean island of Skyros, firefighters had earlier largely brought a separate blaze under control, an AFP reporter said.
Across the country, 34 fires have erupted in the past 24 hours, according to the fire department.
So far, five firefighters have been killed, among them a Danish pilot who died earlier this month in a mid-air collision between two Bell helicopters while fighting a blaze near Athens.
Belgium’s biggest wildfire heads towards Germany
In Belgium, officials said a wildfire tearing through a nature reserve in the Wallonia region has expanded rapidly, more than doubling in size over 24 hours to cover about 3,000 hectares.
Local authorities said the fire was advancing towards the German border.
The blaze, burning in the High Fens — a protected area in the east of the country — has been active since Friday. Firefighters from Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg have joined efforts to halt its spread, alongside the army and local farmers.
Responders today concentrated on the leading edge of the fire moving towards Germany, and hoped cooler, more humid conditions would aid containment, said Stephanie Ernoux, spokesperson for the administration of the Belgian region of Wallonia.
Farmers are assisting firefighters as a wildfire ravages the Hautes Fagnes
The EU sent additional support yesterday after Belgium sought emergency help, deploying three helicopters and two water bomber aircraft from elsewhere in Europe.
“No homes have been affected at this stage, although the fire remains close and smoke levels are significant,” the office of the governor of Liege said in an update.
In Croatia, police said they had arrested four people suspected of starting some of the wildfires that have scorched parts of the Adriatic coast in recent days.
French officials reported that cooler temperatures had helped efforts to tackle a fire in south-western France, where about 1,700 hectares have burned since Thursday.
The historically hot summer has contributed to the deaths of thousands of people across Europe.
