Greece: Major wildfire in Athens suburbs under control, leaving one dead

Athens, Aug 13 (IANS) A major wildfire that erupted and spread over 30 km to reach the northeastern suburbs of Athens has been contained by early Tuesday morning, leaving one dead and causing significant damages, according to local authorities.

The wildfire erupted on Sunday and has been blazing since, reports Xinhua news agency.

A 60-year-old woman who was working in a small factory in Chalandri, a suburb in northern Athens, lost her life in the flames. Her body was retrieved by firefighters early Tuesday, said Greece’s Fire Brigade.

According to the latest update, firefighters were no longer battling a raging blaze but were trying to extinguish dispersed pockets of fire and tackle flare-ups.

Initial estimates suggest the blaze started on Sunday near Marathon town, the birthplace of the Marathon race, located some 40 km northeast of central Athens. It has left behind scorched-down forests, farmland, and approximately 100 damaged houses.

“Today is a better day, but we need to cope with large destruction,” Stelios Petsas, deputy interior minister of Greece, said in the town on Tuesday.

Thousands of residents who had been forced to flee the flames have started returning to their homes.

“The entire neighbourhood is covered in ashes. The slope of Penteli Mountain has turned black. People are homeless and in despair,” Vasso Toumbeki, a resident of Chalandri, told Xinhua.

The strong winds that hampered firefighting efforts have receded, but authorities remain on alert. Meteorologists have warned that weather conditions might change again later on Tuesday and in the coming days.

Officials and experts said the prolonged drought was also among the primary factors making it difficult for firefighters to bring the wildfire under control.

“It was the first mega-fire we faced this year. It was a tough battle,” Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece’s main firefighters’ union, told the local MEGA television channel.

Greece just experienced its hottest June and July on record. The country faces thousands of wildfires each summer, and climate change seems to be triggering more and larger blazes.

Three people have lost their lives in wildfires so far this year in the country. The death toll was 20 last year and over 100 in 2018 when a major wildfire swept through Mati, a seaside resort near Marathon.

–IANS

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