Fires tore through parched forests and swallowed villages across Greece, bearing down on villages near Mount Olympus in the south a day after the government declared a nationwide state of emergency. At least 51 people were dead and three people were arrested on suspicion of arson.
The worst infernos were concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in southern Greece and on the island of Evia north of Athens.
The flames were within 5km of the archeological site of Mount Olympus, where authorities evacuated several nearby villages and mobilized some 50 soldiers and volunteers to patrol the site to prevent the worst from happening.
Desperate residents in nearby villages appeared on TV to appeal for help.
"We're going to burn alive here," one woman told Greek television from the village of Lambeti.
She said residents were using garden hoses in a desperate attempt to save their homes.
Church bells rang out in the village of Kolyri near Ancient Olympia as panicked residents tried to gather their belongings and flee through the night, said one man who called the TV station.
After first light, firefighting planes began dropping water in the area, and Ancient Olympia mayor Giorgos Aidonis said the ancient site was no longer in imminent peril.
"We are among the lucky," he said. "Ancient Olympia is not in danger at the moment."
But other areas were still being consumed by flames, with much of the Peloponnese ablaze and one front bearing down a mountain slope towards the southern city of Kalamata.
On Saturday, new fronts had emerged as dozens of fresh fires broke out -- including some blamed on arson.
Another blaze broke out in the area of Kalyvia, between Athens and the ancient site of Sounion to the south.
Nearly 1,000 soldiers and military helicopters reinforced firefighters stretched to the limit by the country's worst summer of wildfires.
In the most ravaged area -- a string of mountain villages in southern Greece -- rescue crews picked through a grim aftermath that spoke of last-minute desperation as the fires closed in.
Dozens of charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars, including the remains of a mother hugging her four children.
By sea and by land, authorities evacuated hundreds of people trapped by the flames.
Senior Health Ministry official Panagiotis Efstathiou said on Saturday that the bodies of 49 people who died because of the fires had been taken to hospitals.
There were fears the toll could increase as rescue crews searched recently burned areas.
The fires have been so severe that authorities said that they could not yet give an estimate of how much damage the blazes had caused, nor what expanse of land had been burned.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
New Taipei City prosecutors yesterday indicted nine entertainers over their alleged connection to a fraud ring that produces falsified documents to help people evade military service, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and show host William Liao (廖威廉). Twenty-eight people were charged with contravening the Punishment for Violation of Military Service System Act (妨害兵役治罪條例) and Article 214 of the Criminal Code for “causing a public official to make a false entry in a public document.” Prosecutors alleged the fraud ring was ran by a man, Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), and his three assistants, and that they were paid to help people dodge compulsory
RSS