Several people suspected of inciting arson have been arrested in the country
A small firefighting plane crashed during a fire-fighting operation in western Greece, AFP reported.
The Pezetel plane crashed while extinguishing a fire on the Ionian island of Zakynthos in western Greece. The pilot is safe and healthy, he was assisted by other firefighters, ANA-MPA reported.
No one was injured on the ground, the fire department on the island of Zakynthos said.
Fires in our southern neighbor have claimed the lives of two people in recent days. Hundreds were evacuated today from the island of Euboea, where the fire is already occurring on the 6th day. Many of the younger locals ignored the evacuation order to protect their homes from the fire.
Several people suspected of inciting arson have been arrested in Greece, the Associated Press reported.
A 47-year-old Greek man was arrested in a Athens suburb last night. Today, police announced two more people arrested on suspicion of arson. A 71-year-old Greek man has been detained in southern Greece and a foreigner has been arrested in an Athens park.
Greek firefighters, who received reinforcements with air and ground forces and equipment from a number of European countries, continue to fight today (for the 12th day in a row) with the devastating flames on the island of Euboea. More than 2,000 people were evacuated from the island of Euboea. At the same time, the fire north of Athens is easing.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said providing assistance to people affected by the fires would be his top political priority and promised that the burned areas would be reforested.
Alexis Tsipras – a former prime minister and now opposition leader – has accused the government of having no plan to tackle the crisis. In the last 10 days, the fires have burned 56,000 hectares.
Tsipras said the authorities had not allocated enough funds and had thus left the people of Euboea to their own devices. A government spokesman said the thick smoke from the fires prevented firefighting aircraft and helicopter crews from doing their job.
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