Live. More wildfire hell over next 48 hours, warns Greek PM

Summary

• Wildfires are sweeping through Greece, Italy, France, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia
• 40 people have reportedly been killed by the blazes, mostly in Algeria
• Fires are continuing to spread by high winds and searing temperatures, though they have been extinguished in places
• A Greek airforce plane dropping water on a blaze on the island of Evia crashed on Tuesday, killing both pilots 
• Some tourist flights to affected areas have been cancelled
• As the south burns, intense storms have hit northern Italy

Three dead in Sicily’s ‘devastating’ fire

Three elderly people on the Italian island of Sicily have been killed by horrific wildfires, according to its regional president. 

The burnt remains of a couple in their 70s were discovered in their charred home on the outskirts of Palermo, the regional capital, local media reported. 

Another woman in her late 80s died near Palermo province after an ambulance was unable to reach her due to fires in the area.

Italian firefighters said they battled nearly 1,400 fires between Sunday and Tuesday, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria. In this southern mainland region, a bedridden 98-year-old man was killed as fire consumed his home.

More wildfire hell, warns Greek PM

Greece’s Prime Minister has warned of at least 48 hours more of wildfire hell throughout the country, as temperatures are set to hit their peak on Wednesday.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis told ministers on Tuesday the next few days would be difficult but that conditions could possibly improve after Thursday.

“All of us are standing guard,” he said. “In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism.”

The high temperatures in Greece are set to rise through Wednesday to exceed 44C in some areas, with Rhodes and Corfu experiencing some of the worst of the extreme weather.

Turkey

In Turkey, authorities evacuated a dozen homes and a hospital as a precaution on Tuesday. 

Wildfires are raging through a rugged forest area near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer, in Antalya province.

Another wildfire in the western province of Manisa, was brought under control a day after it burnt at least 14 homes.

Croatia

In Croatia, flames came within 12 km of the medieval town of Dubrovnik late on Tuesday.

France

Firefighters fought in overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday a virulent fire threatening three villages in Haute-Corse, south Corsica. 

The fires were close to three villages, Corbara, Pigna and Santa-Reparata-Di-Balagna. 

Parts of two hamlets have “many sensitive points, dwellings, religious points”, according to the firefighters.

Some 130 hectares of vegetation have already been ravaged by the flames according to a latest assessment.

Italy

While storms batter the north, parts of southern Italy are going up in flames.

Firefighters on Tuesday battled wildfires in Sicily, one of which got so close to Palermo airport it was shut down for several hours on Tuesday morning.

The tarmac melted and authorities urged people not to come to the airport for “security reasons.”

At least 1,500 people have so far been evacuated from the Palermo area. The national fire brigade, Vigili del Fuoco (VdF), said the situation was “critical” in five areas around the city, where several houses had been affected by the fires.

Sicily’s civil protection agency reported temperatures of up to 47.6 degrees Celsius in Catania on Monday.

The bodies of two septuagenarians were found charred in a house engulfed in flames and an 88-year-old woman died near Palermo, media reported on Tuesday evening.

The president of the Sicilian region, Renato Schifani, has indicated that he wants to ask the government, which meets on Wednesday, to declare a state of emergency on the Mediterranean island.

In Italy’s northern Lombardy region, a powerful storm accompanied by heavy hail caused flooding and power outages and was blamed for the death of a 16-year-old girl at a scouts’ camp.

Greece

Greece has been hit hard by wildfires, with authorities evacuating more than 20,000 people in recent days from homes and resorts on the holiday island of Rhodes.

Two Greek airforce pilots – aged 27 and 34 – died yesterday when their water-dropping plane, crashed on the island of Evia, east of Athens. 

Savage forest fires have ravaged the country for ten days, with firefighting teams from around Europe scrambling to help. 

On Tuesday, temperatures were pushed back into the 40s, with strong winds whipping by the flames. 

With apocalyptic images of decimated forests continuing to shock Greece, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned the struggle against wildfires would remain “difficult”.

In reference to the dead pilots, he said: “They offered their lives to save lives.” 

“They proved how hazardous their daily missions in extinguishing fires are … In their memory, we continue the war against the destructive forces of nature.”

Successive evacuations of locals and holidaymakers have been ordered on Corfu, Evia and Rhodes. Tourist flights have now largely been cancelled, though some providers were still running flights in affected areas. 

Algeria 

The heaviest death toll from wildfires so far is in Algeria where there have been 34 victims, including 10 soldiers surrounded by flames during an evacuation in the coastal province of Bejaia, east of Algiers.

Firefighters continued to tackle 11 blazes ravaging the northeast of the country, after putting out around 80% of the fires that killed at least 34 people over the last three days.

Local media images show fields and bushes on fire, charred cars and shops reduced to ashes.

In Toudja, a hard-hit area in the northeast, the fire was almost entirely stopped, despite a few persistent outbreaks. Sixteen people died here. 

Firefighting planes dropped water for two days on this wooded area, located on the shores of the Mediterranean.

(AFP)