A massive fire is raging near the Greek town of Paiania, an eastern suburb of Athens, with police evacuating local residents, Greece’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection said on Monday.
On Saturday, the Greek authorities declared a “red” wildfire alert over 40 degree Celsius (104 degree Fahrenheit) heat and strong winds. Despite all measures of prevention, 59 wildfires broke out on Saturday, with 63 more recorded on Sunday.
“Today, at 0018 hrs (GMT) in Paiania, Attica, at the foot of Hymettus [mountain], a forest fire broke out,” the secretariat said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik.
It added that a powerful firefighting force consisting of 133 firefighters and 42 vehicles had been immediately sent to the site. It has since been reinforced by squads from the neighboring areas, according to the secretariat.
In addition, all civil protection forces and water tanks from the capital region of Attica, the local government and the neighboring regions of Peloponnese and Central Greece had been sent to the fire-ravaged area.
Police units were dispatched to the town to facilitate evacuation of local residents.
In July 2018, the resort village of Mati, near Athens, was hit by a devastating fire. The tragedy killed over 100 people, with flames engulfing the whole settlement just within 1.5 hours. Back then, the New Democracy party, which was in opposition at that time, harshly criticized the authorities for failing to organize evacuation. The tragedy is believed to have been among the reasons behind Syriza’s defeat in the July parliamentary elections.
(UNI)
