Firefighting aircraft crashes in Greece, killing each pilots, as island blazes power new evacuations

RHODES: A Greek air power water-dropping aircraft crashed whereas diving right into a wildfire in southern Greece on Tuesday, killing each pilots, as authorities battled blazes which were raging for days throughout the nation amid a return of warmth wave temperatures.

A state ERT TV video confirmed the CL-215 plane releasing its load of water on the island of Evia earlier than its wingtip apparently snagged in a tree department. Moments later it disappeared right into a deep fold within the floor from which a fireball erupted.
The air power stated the pilots, aged 34 and 27, each died within the crash. The aircraft had no ejection system.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cancelled a deliberate go to to Cyprus for Wednesday, and three days of mourning have been known as for Greece’s armed forces.
A 3rd successive warmth wave in Greece pushed temperatures again above 40 levels Celsius (104 levels Fahrenheit) throughout elements of the nation Tuesday amid a string of evacuations from fires which have raged uncontrolled for days, whipped on by robust winds.
It is nonetheless unclear how they began, though tinder-dry situations amid the summer time warmth imply the slightest spark can set off a blaze that can unfold quick if not shortly quenched. A number of individuals have been arrested or fined throughout Greece in latest days for unintentionally beginning fires.
Summer season wildfires have additionally struck different Mediterranean international locations, leaving at the very least 34 individuals useless in Algeria.
EU officers have blamed local weather change for the rising frequency and depth of wildfires throughout the European continent, noting that 2022 was the second-worst yr for wildfire harm on file after 2017.
A Greek fireplace service spokesman stated the worst blazes on Tuesday have been on the southeastern island of Rhodes and the northwestern island of Corfu — each that are well-liked vacationer locations.
“On the other fronts we have to deal with many cases of the fire flaring up again,” Ioannis Artopios stated.
4 villages on Rhodes have been ordered evacuated on Tuesday as a hearth burning for eight days continued to maneuver inland, torching mountainous forest areas, together with part of a nature reserve.
One other 5 evacuations have been ordered on Corfu, and one in a single day on Evia.
On Rhodes, determined residents, many with moist towels round their necks to stave off the scorching warmth, used shovels to beat again flames approaching their properties, whereas firefighting planes and helicopters resumed water drops at first mild.
“For the twelfth day, under extreme conditions of heat and strong winds, we are fighting nonstop on dozens of forest fire fronts. … The Greek Fire Service has battled more than 500 fires — more than 50 a day,” stated Vassilis Kikilias, the minister for local weather disaster and civil safety.
Authorities stated that greater than 20,000 individuals have been concerned in successive evacuations on the island, largely vacationers over the weekend when fires swept by means of two coastal areas within the southeast of Rhodes.
Amongst them was Serbian basketball star Philip Petrusev, a performed for the Philadelphia 76ers who was vacationing on Rhodes along with his associate Tiana Sumakovic.
In a collection of on-line posts, Sumakovic described frantic scenes as she and Petrusev escaped the hearth.
“The fire got got very close and we had to run,” Sumakovic wrote, captioning movies of the hearth. “We were choking on the smoke and ran as far as we could … we eventually made it to safety.”
Rhodes is very well-liked with Nordic vacationers, who’re anticipated to proceed heading for the island this week.
Two full constitution flights have been scheduled to depart from Sweden on Wednesday, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet stated. Tour operators stated holidaymakers could be heading to resorts within the so-far unaffected northern a part of Rhodes.
The European Union has despatched 500 firefighters, 100 autos and 7 planes from 10 member states, whereas Turkey, Israel, Egypt and different international locations have additionally despatched assist.
Contributing nations included Italy which was coping with its personal fires and excessive climate at residence.
On the island of Sicily, Palermo’s worldwide airport quickly shut down as flames from a wildfire approached. However in Italy’s northern Lombardy area, a robust storm brought about flooding, energy outages and was blamed for the loss of life of a 16-year-old woman at a scouts’ camp.
In Turkey, authorities evacuated a dozen properties and a hospital as a precaution on Tuesday after a wildfire raged by means of a rugged forest space close to the Mediterranean resort of Kemer, in Antalya province.
One other wildfire that broke out within the western province of Manisa, was introduced underneath management a day after it reached a small village, burning at the very least 14 properties. All residents had been evacuated and nobody was damage.
In Athens, authorities resumed afternoon closing hours on the historical Acropolis, as a part of broader measures to deal with the excessive warmth.