Greece : Worst Forest Fire

A worst forest in Greece has killed 44 people and it was feared the toll could rise with villages still cut off by flames sweeping through parts of the Peloponnese peninsula. Greece has called for urgent help from its European Union partners.

Villager surveying forest fire damage in Artemida (Photo: Reuters)

“It’s a tragedy,” a witness told Greek television. “I can see the burnt bodies of a mother holding her child in her arms. Further away there are more bodies. It’s terrible.”

At lease 19 firefighting aircraft and 18 helicopters are currently fighting the fire. There are 87 active fire fronts and a number of villages have been cut off by a wall of flames, stretching 80 kilometres from the Ionian Sea on the west coast of the Peloponnese to Mani on the peninsula’s southern tip. (source)