Two people have died and hundreds more were forced to flee as fires erupted almost simultaneously on the Greek island of Salamis, just off Athens, according to the fire department.
A fire service spokesman told AFP that “two bodies were recovered” near Peristeria beach in the island’s south. The discovery came after authorities ordered hundreds of people to leave the area.
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“There are hundreds of bathers and permanent residents, an evacuation order has been issued,” the agency’s deputy spokesman, Yiannis Artopios, told state broadcaster ERT.
Four evacuation orders were issued in rapid succession after flames broke out “almost simultaneously” at Peristeria and Selinia, two well-known bathing spots on the southern and eastern sides of the island, Mr Artopios said.
Some roads remained accessible, while police officers were deployed to direct residents and visitors towards safety, Mr Artopios said.
Officials were working to prevent the fires from climbing a nearby mountain and merging, Salamina deputy mayor Thodoris Zannis told the broadcaster.
The fire service sent around 200 firefighters, almost 50 engines, six aircraft and seven helicopters to the island, with additional crews and equipment brought in from the mainland, Mr Artopios said.
Greece’s coastguard said it had dispatched five patrol boats, while a number of private vessels, including ferries, were also being prepared to assist with evacuations.
Two fire service vessels were taking part in the operation as well, Mr Artopios said.
Although Greece largely avoided the extreme heatwave that engulfed much of Europe earlier in the summer, the country has faced several major wildfires since late July, with unusually powerful winds helping the flames spread.
A fire on the Aegean island of Skyros had been largely brought under control earlier, an AFP reporter said.
Fire officials said 34 fires had been reported across the country during the previous 24 hours.
Five firefighters have died so far, among them a Danish pilot who was killed earlier this month when two Bell helicopters collided in mid-air while fighting a fire near Athens.
Belgium’s biggest wildfire heads towards Germany
Belgian authorities said a wildfire burning through a nature reserve in Wallonia had more than doubled in size within 24 hours, covering about 3,000 hectares.
Officials said the flames were advancing towards the German border.
The fire has been burning since Friday in the High Fens, a nature reserve in eastern Belgium. Firefighters from Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg have joined the effort to contain it, alongside the army and local farmers.
Crews were concentrating on the fire’s advancing front towards Germany and hoped that cooler, more humid conditions would help slow its progress, Stephanie Ernoux, a spokesperson for the administration of Belgium’s Wallonia region, said.
Farmers are assisting firefighters as a wildfire ravages the Hautes Fagnes
The European Union sent three helicopters and two water-bomber aircraft from across Europe yesterday after Belgium appealed for emergency assistance.
“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 swept sections of the Adriatic coast in recent days.
French officials said a drop in temperatures had aided efforts to contain a fire in south-western France that had burned around 1,700 hectares since Thursday.
Europe’s exceptionally hot summer has been linked to the deaths of thousands of people across the continent.
