2 Pilots Among 3 Dead While Battling Greece Wildfires, PM Warns Of Tough Days Ahead

Amid the blazes caused by the wildfires, the Prime Minister of Greece has warned people of tough days ahead.

Amid the blazes caused by the wildfires, the Prime Minister of Greece has warned people of tough days ahead.

Source : Getty

At least three people died Tuesday in the wildfires raging on the Greek islands for a week. Among the three dead were two pilots, who were killed when their Canadair CL-215 plane crashed on the island of Evia, east of Athens, while battling the flames, as reported by Reuters, citing Air Force officials.

Amid the blazes caused by the wildfires, the Prime Minister of Greece has warned people of tough days ahead.

According to the officials, the pilots were 34-year-old and 27-year-old. The TV footage shows the plane dropping water over a fire and bursting into flames after crashing, Reuters reported. Amidst the battle with the blazes, the body of a stockbreeder who had been missing since Sunday was found burned in a shack, state broadcaster ERT reported. The broadcaster reported that the area on the island where the body was discovered was hard to reach.

Earlier on Monday, tourists on the Greek island of Rhodes were flown on Monday to their homes as the country continues to battle ravaging wildfires for nearly a week, reported Reuters. According to officials, the threat of further fires was high in almost every region of the country.

Speaking to local broadcaster ERT, as per a BBC report, the island's deputy mayor Konstantinos Taraslias said that the forest fires are still "out of control" after seven days of fighting. Taraslias said that the fires' impact on tourist areas had added to the challenges as it required the authorities to suddenly evacuate thousands of visitors, reported the BBC.

He said that fire tenders had been arriving on Rhodes to help battle the "devastating" situation and added that volunteers and other locals are "doing the best they can" to support people.

The fire that began on Friday has led to the evacuation of nearly 19,000 people over the weekend as flames reached coastal resorts on the island's southeast. Reuters mentioned that a wildfire also forced evacuations from the island of Corfu. Notably, both Rhodes and Corfu are among Greece's top destinations for tourists mainly from Britain and Germany.

As per the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece, no injuries have been reported so far on the island, BBC reported. The Ministry also said that the tourists are being evacuated safely from the affected areas of Rhodes - which represent less than 10% of the island's tourist accommodation - and are being redirected to other hotels on the island.

Five helicopters and 173 firefighters were operating in the area to combat the wildfires, with three hotels in the Kiotari area reported to have been damaged by fire, reported BBC. The areas of Laerma, Lardos and Asklipio were also affected.

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