Greek spot popular with Edinburgh tourists sees mass evacuations after wildfire
The inferno began on Wednesday July 2 at a forested area close to the municipality of Lerapetra but gale-force winds reaching up to eight on the Beaufort scale, led to the fire spreading quickly to the south which threatened several local homes and tourist accommodation.
The Mirror reports that around 3,000 residents have been evacuated from various areas, including Achlia, Agia Fotia, Galini, Ferma, and Koutsounariand and put up in temporary shelters.
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The fire front now extends over at least 6km, according to emergency services, making containment increasingly difficult.
The evacuees have been relocated to temporary shelters on the holiday island, including an indoor basketball arena in Lerapetra and various hotels across other parts of the island.
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Over 2,700 personnel from multiple agencies have been dispatched to the region to tackle the blaze, backed by eight firefighting planes, 12 helicopters, and a fleet of fire trucks and specialised equipment.
At least four elderly people have been rushed to hospital with respiratory problems caused by smoke inhalation. As a precaution, all hospitals in Crete have been placed on alert by health authorities, BBC reports.
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'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, told the Associated Press.
'The tourists who were moved out are all ok. They have been taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions of the island.'
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