At least 5,000 tourists were forced to evacuate parts of Crete as a massive wildfire scorched forests and olive groves on the Greek holiday island.
Around 230 firefighters, along with 46 engines and helicopters, rushed to tackle the blaze on Thursday, which broke out the day before in the forested hills near Lerapetra on the island’s southern coast.
People from villages including Achlia, Ferma, Agia Fotia and Koutsounari and surrounding tourist resorts and hotels were evacuated to Ierapetra’s indoor sports hall for shelter.
Winds of up to 50mph winds spread the blaze south, as reinforcements flew in from Athens to help put out the fire.
The inferno destroyed homes in places including Agia Fotia, while at least four people were rushed to hospital after inhaling smoke, according to the BBC.
The blaze encroached upon houses and hotels that were earlier evacuated, stoked by intense winds that “rekindled and hindered firefighting efforts,” fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
The government issued mobile phone alerts for the evacuations and appealed to residents not to return to try to save their property.
The fire began in an area of dense, flammable vegetation between Agia Fotia and Skinokapsala, with steep slopes, parched ground and gusty winds making containment extremely difficult.
Authorities said the fire has been difficult to contain, and 230 firefighters continue to battle the blaze with help from 10 water-dropping aircraft.
“It’s a very difficult situation. The fire is very hard to contain. Right now, they cannot contain it,” Nektarios Papadakis, a civil protection official at the regional authority, said.
“The tourists who were moved out are all okay. They have been taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions of the island.”
Two people were evacuated by boat overnight on Thursday, while six private boats were on standby in case further evacuations by sea became necessary, the coast guard said.
Vice-Prefect Yannis Androulakis confirmed that the blaze, which had “three active fronts”, and spread quickly because of strong winds.
“There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops,” he said. “The winds are very strong – up to nine on the Beaufort scale.”
