Authorities said two people died and hundreds of residents were evacuated after two fires broke out "at almost the same time" on the Greek island of Salamina, near Athens, on Sunday afternoon.
Around 200 firefighters were deployed to prevent the two fires from joining together on the island of Salamina, which was classified as a high-risk forest fire zone on Sunday. The first fire was reported at 14:40 local time (11:40 GMT) near the southern coast of the island and spread rapidly due to strong winds, before a separate fire broke out approximately 20 minutes later in the east. The causes of both fires remain unknown.
Greek media reported that one of the fires was brought under control and that evacuations were completed by Sunday afternoon, with 500 people leaving the island by sea. A fire service official, Vasilios Vathrakiannis, stated that the first fire broke out in a critical residential area in Peristiria, a village located in the south of the island. Firefighters who arrived at the scene found two bodies, and the city mayor told Greek media that the victims are believed to have been a couple.
Firefighters continued to fight scattered fires in the area late on Sunday evening, while the second fire, which broke out in the village of Selinia in the east of the island, was reported to no longer have "an active front". Two coast guard vessels and a fire service boat would remain in the area for surveillance and assistance.
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said via platform X that at least ten additional people suffered burns or "other symptoms of smoke inhalation", with five transferred for treatment in the area. Aircraft and 50 fire vehicles were deployed, with assistance from water tankers and construction machinery, in an effort to control the two fires. Vice-mayor of Salamina, Theodoros Zanis, had previously said that the goal was to prevent the two fires from crossing one of the island's mountains and joining into a single fire.
Five patrol boats and several private vessels were sent to the area to provide assistance. The island of Salamina, located directly west of Athens, has a population of around 37,000 inhabitants, many of them elderly.
Firefighters across Europe faced a series of forest fires over the weekend, including one in Belgium where firefighting teams spent a third day fighting fires within the country's largest nature reserve, "Haute Fagne". The fire area, described as the largest in the country's modern history, more than doubled in 24 hours. Simultaneously, at least one person died and dozens were injured in a forest fire that ravaged the Croatian coast during the night of Friday. The head of Croatian firefighters, Slavko Tukakovic, described the fire as "one of the worst" in the country's history, with approximately 1,200 residents and tourists evacuated.