Press
A tourist yacht causes a forest fire on the Greek island of Hydra. The passengers flee while the fire brigade battles the flames.
Hydra – The fire service in Greece was confronted with numerous fires across the country on Saturday (June 22). Despite repeated warnings, there are still people who handle fire irresponsibly. One example of this is passengers on a tourist yacht who set off fireworks off the coast of the island of Hydra. This was reported by several Greek media outlets. The sparks ignited the island’s only forest.
Mayor angry: Municipality wants to file charges against those responsible for the tourist yacht
The municipality of Hydra is outraged and plans to hold those responsible for the tourist yacht to account for the fire. According to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa), the yacht’s passengers first tried to put out the fire themselves before calling the fire brigade and then leaving. The affected area is difficult to access, so the fire brigade can only extinguish the fire from the air and the sea.
Last year, several forest fires in Greece posed a major challenge for the fire service. On the island of Rhodes in particular, the fires caused “absolute chaos,” as those affected reported at the time. After these events, the popular travel destination made a promise to future vacationers. Whether this promise can be kept remains uncertain given the current situation.
Numerous forest fires broke out in Greece within 24 hours
Giorgos Koukoudakis, the mayor of the island, expressed his outrage in a television interview. He was interviewed by the Italian daily The Republic was quoted as saying that he was “outraged that some people are setting off fireworks in such an irresponsible manner in a pine forest”. He added that “the municipality will file a civil suit against those responsible for the fire once the preliminary investigation is completed”.
In rare cases, the authorities manage to identify those responsible for the fires. Recently, for example, a man was arrested who was filmed on several video cameras setting a fire east of Athens that could only be extinguished after two days. Greece only last year increased the penalties for arson. In the case of negligent arson, prison sentences of up to ten years can now be imposed in addition to fines in the five-figure range.
In the last 24 hours, 64 forest and bush fires have broken out in Greece. The situation was particularly critical in an area in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula. Firefighters and volunteers fought the flames all night. The situation there was still under control, but the authorities were expecting strong winds at midday, the broadcaster ERT reported.
Civil protection calls for vigilance due to first heat wave in Greece
Greece is currently on high alert. Civil protection officials called for extreme vigilance on Saturday as the risk of fire in the Attica region, on the island of Peloponnese in the south and in the center of the country “remains very high.” Last week, Greece experienced the first real heatwave of the season, with temperatures exceeding 44 degrees in some places, according to the Italian daily.
A A holidaymaker in Greece recently discovered a confusing dish on a menu of an Italian restaurant. The translation seems to have gone wrong.
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