Greece is in flames

[Ricardo Reis]

Aug 26, 2007, 0:42 GMT

Athens - Out-of-control wildfires in Greece have killed more than 50 people as firefighters were largely forced to wait for sunrise Sunday morning before renewing the battle against the massive blazes.

Residents of the Peloponnese peninsula, in southern Greece and on Euboea island hunkered down for another night of horror Saturday as an early loss of daylight caused firefighters to shut down helicopters and planes working to contain the blazes.

At least 190 fires were burning across the region, countless still uncontrolled. Authorities fear that the death toll will rise as hundreds of people were trapped in remote villages encircled by flames on the Peloponnese peninsula.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis on Saturday declared a state of emergency and three days of mourning. Flags on all public buildings would fly at half-mast until Monday.

Karamanlis blamed arsonists for the horrors of the last few days as police arrested seven people in connection with the blazes. It could not be 'coincidence' that the fires broke out in such a short time, Karamanlis said in televised remarks, adding that his government would do everything to bring the perpetrators to justice.

About 70,000 hectares of land and hundreds of houses have burned to the ground over the past three days, according to media reports.

The European Union and its members offered aid, manpower and equipment to help in the firefight - some 19 planes and 18 helicopters poured water on the blaze through Saturday.

'It's terrible. I have never experienced anything like this. We keep finding charred bodies lying on the streets. There's a mother with her four children here,' the president of the Greek journalists' association, Panos Sombolos said in a television report from the tiny village of Makitos in the western Peloponnese Saturday morning.

Almost all Greek newspapers spoke of 'apocalyptic images' in their Saturday editions.

Two rural towns in the region of Zacharo town in the western Peloponnese have been worst hit by the blaze. About 30 people have died in Artemida and Makistos, including seven children. Many were burned alive trying to flee from the fires by car, media reported.

Several hundred people were evacuated with small ferries from the small seaside town of Nea Styra on the second largest Greek island Euboea.

Forest fires also broke out simultaneously in several places near Athens, starting to affect houses in the Papagou district and setting the top of a five-storey building ablaze, Greek state television reported.

Fire services managed to bring the blaze under control within a few minutes and no-one was injured.

Nikos Diamantis, spokesman for the fire brigade, said that the fire in the north-east of the city had been caused by arson.

'I have no doubt any more: it was arson,' he said. 'We are on the trail of the arsonist.'

A number of villages were evacuated on the Peloponnese peninsula. A massive fire raged out of control near the southern Greek port of Kalamata. Other fires burned near Sparta, Corinth and Tripolis.

'These hours are difficult for us all. They are the hours for taking charge and fighting,' Karamanlis said on a visit to Zacharo Friday evening, promising financial aid for everyone affected by the fires, radio reports said.

'Hundreds of firefighters, soldiers, volunteers and simple people are risking their lives to fight the flames,' he said. 'We are here. We are standing by them. We trust in them.'

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

[Ricardo Reis]

Greece in flames:

[svin]

Very bad news. My deep condolences to Greek people.

What's the possible goal of an arsonist? I can't think of any, except he is sick.

[Ricardo Reis]

[Ricardo Reis]

I hope those responsible, are found and tourtured in the most painful ways for the rest of their patheticly fucked up natural lives.


Help is on the way:


-Norway 1 aircraft
-Germany 3 hellicopters
-Holland 3 hellicopters
-Spain 2 Canadairs
-Italy 2 Canadairs
-France 2 Canadairs+73 forest commandos
-Cyprus 5 vehicles and 30 fire-fighters
-Serbia 6 aircraft

news in.gr - ÎåðÝñáóáí ôïõò 50 ïé íåêñïß áðü ôéò öùôéÝò - Ðýñéíá ìÝôùðá ðáíôïý

[Franze]

I am happy for the help of my country, I love Greece.

[swordjumper]

My sympathies - It's so awful to watch this.Some of the most beautiful and spectacular landscape has been lost and it's wildlife decimated,not to mention the dreadful human cost.
The culprits should be severely dealt with when caught.

[Lucas Corso]

All of my solidarity to the Greek people!!!

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

I hope this hell will end as soon as possible.

Greek fires reach ancient Olympics site - Yahoo! News

[Monolith]

This is terrible.
My condolences to Greek people.

[Blood Axis]

63 dead, 110 villages, as well as areas in Athens, burnt to the ground in the most catastrophic fire Greece (or Europe?) has seen during the last decades...and the fire is still burning


Greek leader suggests political extremists set fires

European Union says 30 member countries have offered help
ATHENS, Greece (CNN)

-- Fires in southern Greece that have razed dozens of villages and killed at least 44 people may have been deliberately set ahead of next month's national elections, the prime minister suggested Saturday.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis declared a nationwide state of emergency Saturday night. He also turned to European Union allies, which have promised help.

Emergency crews pulled charred bodies from homes and local media reported death tolls of up to 50 people.

Scores are hospitalized with severe burns and respiratory problems, state-run television reported.

Although the fires were concentrated in the southern Peloponnese region, heavy smoke billowing Saturday afternoon above Mount Hymettus, southeast of Athens, signaled a new fire. It was burning close to Athens International Airport, forcing officials to close a highway.

In a nationally televised address, Karamanlis suggested the blazes might have been set by political extremists, disrupting political campaigning.

"So many fires sparked simultaneously in so many places is no coincidence," Karamanlis said, and vowed to punish those responsible.

Many firefighters told CNN they are suspicious of the fire's source, given several witness reports that the blazes cropped up simultaneously along a 20-kilometer (12-mile) front of lush greenery in southern Greece.

The prime minister described the situation as a "battle that has to be won," and ordered all resources mobilized to fight the fires.

He also announced that a fund has been set up for fire victims and their families, and an assessment of the disaster will be made.

The most devastated area stretches for 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the western towns of the Zaharo, within the highlands of the western Peloponnese, to the southern tip of the peninsula, Mani.

In the past 24 hours, hundreds of firefighters, soldiers, and planes loaded with water have been battling the infernos on a dozen fronts, authorities said. Yet, despite their efforts, officials said the flames had not been tamed.

"Our emergency services are overstretched and it is humanly impossible to battle this force of nature," a top fire official told CNN.

An EU statement said 30 member countries had offered assistance. France on Saturday was slated to send two planes to help quell the fires, and Norway and Germany pledged to send aircraft as well.

A sweltering heat wave in Greece has parched forests and scrubland. With intense winds fanning the flames, authorities call this the country's worst fire season on record.

Since June, more than 3,000 fires have razed thousands of hectares of forests and scrubland across the country -- nearly triple last year's total -- according to officials.

A mother, her child and at least seven other people died fleeing burning woods in the mountainous villages in western Peloponnese, near the town of Zaharo, according to a fire department official.

Farther south, six people -- including two French tourists found by rescue crews in an embrace -- were killed in a forest fire that swept near their hotel in the town of Areopolis, located 190 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Athens.

Greece's elections are set for September 16. The ruling party has called for a temporary suspension of political campaigning as a sign of respect to those who died in the flames, and flags on government buildings were flying Saturday at half staff.

Source



For a heart-shattering photo gallery please click here.

(Click where is says "Επόμενη Σελίδα" at the bottom of the page, to view the next page of pictures)

The fires as seen from NASA satellites:



(photos: Associated Press)

[Blood Axis]

This is mind-blasting

Witnesses tell of Greek fire horror

People affected by wildfires raging across Greece have described scenes of carnage and grief, as emergency crews battle to bring the infernos under control.

"It's a Biblical catastrophe, the sight is horrible. I saw people burned alive in their cars," said Christos Kafiras, the prefect of the department of Ilia, after visiting the epicentre of the firestorm, near the town of Zaharo in western Peloponnese.

"It's a tragedy," another 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."

A villager living near Zaharo, Stathis Kokaliaris, directed his anger towards the authorities.
"It's a catastrophe. It's ridiculous that no protection exists for the people here," he said.

Leaving home

Relatives of those killed in the village of Artemida, near Zaharo, returned to find their loved ones' burned-out cars standing on a charred hillside.

Antonis Babis was searching for his missing wife.

"What can I tell you? Last night, two or three of us stayed here. We could see dead people on the road, some of them we couldn't recognise," he said.
"I don't know where my wife is. What can I tell you?"

Fitis Stavropoulos managed to escape in time, taking his family to the safety of the coast.

"I took my children, grandchildren and wife to the sea and I came back. Every house was on fire, nobody showed up except the neighbours. We didn't have even the smallest amount of help," he said.

Dimitra Vlasopolou said she was stranded in Artemida with no means to leave.

"I don't have a family here. They are in Athens. My husband is dead. I spent the whole night here alone. I didn't see anybody.

"How could I leave since I don't have any transport?"

Some residents of Athens also felt threatened by fires burning at the foot of Mount Hymettus, east of the capital, where some districts were being evacuated.



"We are deeply saddened about the Peloponnese but this is also devastating," said Angeliki Spanou, a resident in the Holargos suburb of Athens.

A BBC News website reader, Steve Taylore-Knowles, watched from his Athens balcony as planes and helicopters tipped water on the flames.



"For the last few hours there's been a huge pall of smoke and fires burning at the foot of the mountain," he said.

He also said he had heard explosions, and said although the area near the fire was not one of Athens' most populated, it was "clearly threatening homes".


"But there's much less smoke now," he said. "It seems they may have got it under control."

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Witnesses tell of Greek fire horror




(...and thanx for deleting that disgusting post )

[Blood Axis]

I am sorry, I missed this thread. Could you merge mine with this?

edit: Thanks

[Silas]

My deepest sympathies with the Greek people. I hope that we will see some European solidarity now.

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Ôï ÂÇÌÁ onLine - ÈÅÌÁÔÁ

It's not ceasing yet.

Prosecutor orders probe into Greek fires - Yahoo! News

[Heretik]

If these fires weren't planted, then I have to say that Mother Nature has her own ways. But if fires were planted, then, arsonists should get maximal prison sentences. Since we don't have death penalty in europe.

Ahhhhh... The good old days!

And, when I said "Purified by fire" I didn't mean anything bad. Moderators didn't understand and that's all.