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Greek heat wave claims three new victims

Firemen fight a blaze in the Afetes area of Pilion, central Greece, late on Friday. The fires, fanned by strong winds, broke out after a nine-day heat wave described by authorities as the longest ever recorded in the country. PHOTO: AFP

Hundreds of firefighters and troops battled a forest fire on a mountain overlooking Athens on Friday as Greece's longest heatwave on record claimed three new victims.

A cloud of smoke blocked out the sun over the Greek capital and ash rained down on some parts as 200 firefighters, 300 troops and 12 planes carrying water battled four fire fronts on Mount Parnitha.

The heatwave that has seared the country and much of southern Europe since the middle of last month has now killed 12 people in Greece and more than 50 in other countries.

The government said it had "successfully handled a difficult task" as there had been no victims from an all-night battle to contain the mountain fire. But it came under heavy criticism for failing to adequately protect one of the few green areas around the heavily polluted Greek capital.

"Athens has lost a valuable ecosystem," the park's head warden, George Amorgianiotis, told Mega television.

"The fire burned around 10km into the park," he said.

A military radar station, a casino and summer camps on Mount Parnitha were evacuated on Thursday.

But the fire department said homes in the area were no longer threatened.

By late Thursday, the fire had moved on to a ridge several kilometers long about 30km northwest of Athens.

It had crept up to the mountain from its western side where a blaze raged since Wednesday. Authorities were blamed for failing to predict its course.

"We fumbled that one," said Greek Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras, admitting on Thursday that the fire department erred in trying to avoid dropping water near power lines in the area.

Polydoras has suggested that some of the fires that have been started in recent days were the work of arsonists.

Fires continued to rage in Schimatari on the Gulf of Evia, in two separate areas in the central region of Larissa, and the picturesque central region of Pelion.

"We hope that it will rain tonight as announced by the weather forecast," Argalasti mayor Miltiadis Gaitanas said on Net television.

"But unfortunately our forests which tourists love so much are gone," Argalasti said.

A force of 58 firefighters with 14 fire-engines and two aircraft was dispatched to the northern peninsula of Halkidiki to contain a blaze that broke out there on Friday.

In total, fires have been reported from more than 100 sites across the country since Wednesday, although most were extinguished, the fire service said.

The fires broke out after a nine-day heatwave with temperatures of more than 40oC described by authorities as the longest recorded in the country yet, and were fanned by strong winds.

Twelve people have died from heatstroke and the charred bodies of two men were found Thursday in the central region of Agia Larissas where they had become trapped by a blaze.

Temperatures began rising beyond seasonal levels on June 19 and on June 26 the Athens Observatory recorded 44.8oC -- the highest since measurements began 110 years ago.
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