Athens closes the Acropolis and Cyprus face 'Titanic battle' with wildfires while search for Brit missing on holiday island enters 12th day as brutal 42C heatwave scorches Greece

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Cyprus is facing a 'titanic' battle with wildfires and Athens has been forced to close the Acropolis as Greece is scorched by a 42C heatwave that has all but brought the nation to its knees.
Temperatures in the country are expected to reach 42C (107.6 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
With a maximum of 38C in Athens, Greece's culture ministry on Tuesday ordered a partial closure of the Acropolis, the country's top monument, to protect visitors amid heatwave conditions.
The ministry in a statement said the site would be closed from 1:00 to 5:00 pm local time 'for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures.'
The four-day heatwave that began Sunday is the second to grip Greece since late June.
A combination of high temperatures and winds has started a series of wildfires across the country, including on the island of Cyprus.
Dozens of fire engines and firefighting planes and helicopters were sent to battle ever-growing flames that are lashing across the Paphos region of the island.
Terrifying footage showed plumes of grey smoke billowing into the sky as firefighting planes and helicopters dropped water on flames.
One image taken in the region showed a swathe of scorched earth with large flames as its edge reaching further into dry grassland, that caught fire on Monday afternoon.
Another series of photos taken by emergency services showed brave firefighters getting within just a few feet of growing flames and showering them with water to slow their spread.
Other images showed firefighters digging ditches to cut off non-affected land from the flames.
At least one firefighter was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Local media reported that 11 fire engines, three earth movers and four aircraft were initially called to the area.
Two more earth movers and four more fire engines, along with dozens of volunteer and military personnel, were brought in to support them.
It was reported that centuries-old olive trees and young olive trees were burned, while the fire also burned down vineyards.
As Cyprus deals with wildfires, police on the island of Karpathos have begun the 12th day of their search for a missing British tourist.
The 55-year-old, who has not yet been publicly identified, went missing on June 27.
Investigative officers are employing volunteers, drones and dogs to search a wide area.
The man was last seen in Tristomo, where a witness saw him take pictures of the area with his mobile phone.
He reportedly asked for directions on how to drive south to the Vroukounda area via the Lahamitis area, which have both been searched by police.
He was reported missing by the owner of the residence he was staying in alone, after she went to clean it the day after he was meant to have checked out.
His ex-wife, son and son-in-law have reportedly landed on the island.
The chaotic scenes in Greece come as the whole of Europe faces blazing hot weather.
In France, five people including a child were injured after a wildfire burned down 2,000 hectares of forest.
Over in Switzerland, an unusually wintry scene was spotted in the mountains where snow fell on the Stevio Pass
Several houses were damaged, while a workshop and stable completely burned down in Aude, in the south of France.
Around 150 people were evacuated and kept in nearby exhibition centres and gyms.
One local man, Frédéric Bou, told French media he had spent the entire night watering the pine trees near his house to prevent flames from hitting his home.
The fire was the third one this week in Aude. The latest fire broke out in a vineyard.
In total, more than 1,000 firefighters and several firefighting aircraft were deployed.
Blazes also cropped up in Turkey, with its interior minister Ali Yerlikaya revealing on Friday that Turkish authorities arrested 10 suspects in relation to wildfires that broke out across the country.
But over in Switzerland, an unusually wintry scene was spotted in the mountains where snow fell on the Stevio Pass.
Temperatures on the Alps dropped unusually low following a heatwave in the country.
As a result the snowline, the level at which snow falls, fell from 5,000m to just 2,100m, leaving many mountain roads covered in the white powder.