Athens, Greece (AFP) – Two men have died in central Greece while trying to help firefighters tackle a forest fire that has forced several villages to be evacuated, authorities said Monday.
The fire near Corinth, 140 kilometres (87 miles) west of Athens, was still burning on Monday, fanned by fierce winds.
Smoke from the fire, which burned several homes and a church, hovered over the capital throughout Monday.
Anastasios Giolis, the deputy governor of Corinth, told public broadcaster ERT that two men were killed fighting the flames, calling it a “tragic accident”.
The charred bodies of the men, aged 35 and 40, were found near the village of Elliniko, according to media reports.
Two firefighters were slightly injured, fire services told AFP.
The fire broke out on Sunday and spread rapidly due to strong winds and high temperatures, making it “difficult to control”, the fire services said.
A dozen localities near the fire have been told to evacuate, including Pyrgos, Elliniko and Kallithea.
Nearly 400 firefighters were fighting the blaze on Monday, according to the fire brigade.
The task of extinguishing the flames was complicated by the area’s dense vegetation and hilly terrain.
– Record heat –
Numerous regions of Greece were placed on an orange fire alert on Sunday and Monday due to winds reaching speeds of 50 to 75 kilometres an hour (80-120 mph).
The fire department said over 50 rural fires had broken out over the past 24 hours.
Scientists have warned for years that human-induced climate change is driving longer-lasting, more intense and more frequent heatwaves, droughts and other extreme weather events.
Greece experienced drought and early heatwaves this year and has seen a sharp rise in wildfires this summer.
There were 50 percent more wildfires between May and the end of August this year than there were during the same period in 2023, according to the government.
On Sunday, the temperature was 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in Athens, though the heat is expected to recede later in the week.
The Mediterranean country recorded its warmest winter and the hottest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960.
In August, a massive blaze near Marathon, 40 kilometres northeast of Athens, killed one person and forced thousands to flee their homes.
It took hundreds of firefighters three days to control the fire, which reached the suburbs of the Greek capital.
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© Agence France-Presse
Featured image credit: kjpargeter | Freepik
