ATHENS: Twenty bodies have been found in a forested area of northern Greece affected by wildfires for the past four days, the Greek fire service said on Tuesday.
Initial reports suggest the dead may have been migrants. A coroner and investigation team are going to the scene in the Dadia forest.
The Evros region in the north-east of the country, not far from the Turkish border, has been severely hit by fires.
Patients were shifted from a hospital when the fires reached Alexandroupolis, according to BBC.
The flames reached the grounds of the university hospital in the city, and newborn children and intensive care patients were among those evacuated to a ferry berthed at the city’s port.
An earlier death, also believed to have been a migrant, had been reported in a village near Alexandroupolis and emergency services had sent mobile messages to the surrounding areas advising people to leave.
The Dadia national park is a large forested area to the north of Alexandroupolis, and blazes are thought to have spread speedily there since Monday.
Victims Probably Entered Greece Illegally
Fire service spokesperson Yiannis Artopoios said the possibility that the victims found on Tuesday had entered Greece illegally was being probed, given that there had been no reports of missing people.
The Evros region has become one of the most popular routes for Asian and Syrian migrants crossing the River Evros from Turkiye into the European Union (EU).
