Key points
- Aircraft and helicopters resumed their work in several parts of Greece at dawn
- Evacuation messages were sent to people amid wildfire
- Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk: officials
ISLAMABAD: Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.
AFP reported that fires were still raging Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.
“Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory”, AFP cited fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis as saying, though he added that the situation was improving.
Windy conditions
Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas but warned that Kythera, a popular tourist island with 3,600 inhabitants, continued to face “worrying” windy conditions.
Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese, early on Sunday as the fire was raging unabated.
State-run ERT News channel reported “Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt”.
High fire risk
Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted Saturday morning and forced the evacuation of a popular tourist beach.
Greece had earlier requested help from EU allies and two Italian aircraft were expected Sunday, according to the fire brigade, with units from the Czech Republic already at work, according to AFP.
Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials.
