logo
Wildfires kill over 10 people across Cyprus and Turkey as heatwave intensifies in Greece

Wildfires kill over 10 people across Cyprus and Turkey as heatwave intensifies in Greece

The Journal6 days ago
A MASSIVE WILDFIRE has killed two people as it ripped through forests outside Cyprus's second city of Limassol, while at least 10 forest workers and rescuers were killed yesterday near Eskisehir in western Turkey while battling a wildfire.
It comes as Greece announced plans to 'urgently' overhaul its water management as temperatures continued to rise during a week-long heatwave.
In Cyprus, wildfires have been fanned by strong winds and temperatures forecast to reach 44C, authorities said today.
Police said two charred bodies were found in a burnt out car believed to have been caught up in the blaze that erupted yesterday afternoon.
The cause of the blaze is 'still under investigation', but high 'temperatures, strong winds and drought… made the situation even more difficult' said government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.
The Orthodox Church of Agios Ioannis Rossos stands burned in Vouni village, Cyprus
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Announcing relief measures for the affected communities, Letymbiotis earlier said that 'what is unfolding in our country… is unprecedented' with 'multiple simultaneous wildfire outbreaks'.
Health authorities said two people were admitted to hospital with severe burns while another 16 were treated for less serious injuries.
The blaze started in the village of Malia in the hills above Limassol and ravaged 100 square kilometres.
There are currently 'no active fronts' in the fire but intense 'flare-ups' continue in the area.
A firefighter along with her colleagues try to extinguish a fire in Souni village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire, Thursday, 24 July
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Cyprus has asked neighbouring countries to send aircraft to support the firefighting effort.
Letymbiotis said firefighting aircraft had arrived from Jordan, with more expected from Egypt, Israel and Spain 'as soon as possible', alongside assistance from the British air force base in the island's south.
Cyprus is hit by wildfires almost every year during the island's hot, dry summers.
Turkey
In Turkey, a wildfire killed at least 10 forest workers and rescuers yesterday who were battling to douse the flames near Eskisehir in western Turkey.
High temperatures and strong winds have fanned the wildfire between Istanbul and the capital Ankara since Tuesday morning, with the spread threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of several villages.
The victims were wrong-footed when the flames suddenly changed direction, causing them to be 'burnt alive', according to news website BirGun.
Advertisement
Twenty-four workers were caught in the 'brusque evolution of the flames' of whom 14 were being treated in hospital, Agriculture minister Ibrahim Yumakli told broadcasters yesterday evening.
Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday under temperatures between six to 12 degrees above the seasonal norms and several fires have been declared.
Greece
Elsewhere, Greece yesterday announced plans to 'urgently' overhaul its water management as temperatures continued to rise during a week-long heatwave.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the cabinet had discussed plans to make water companies more 'viable', noting that reserves in Athens were down 50% compared to three years ago.
There will be additional use of desalination technology and water reuse, the premier's office said, adding that Greece globally ranked 19th in terms of drought risk.
The National Observatory of Athens recently warned that, following high temperatures and low rainfall in June, almost all of Greece displayed above-normal drought levels for this time of year.
Temperatures have continued to rise in a heatwave expected to last until Sunday.
A tourist holding an umbrella against the sun passes by the Acropolis, which remained closed for five hours due the new heat wave in Athens
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
In Athens yesterday, the heat reached 36.3C around 1:30 pm.
It is expected to rise to 42C today.
To protect visitors and guards, Greek authorities have closed the Acropolis in Athens during the hottest hours of the day, between 1:00pm and 6:00pm, until tomorrow.
'The asphalt is boiling'
The Greek government has also banned outdoor work in several sectors during the hottest hours to minimise health risks.
'It's inhumane to work in such conditions. The asphalt is boiling,' Panagiotis Arvanitidis, 35, a member of the food delivery workers' union in the Thessaloniki region (north), told AFP.
'The ambient temperature in my home over the past two days has exceeded 30C,' said 50-year-old medical saleswoman Anna Spania.
'Without air conditioning, survival is impossible!' she added.
The heatwave's highest temperatures so far were recorded on Tuesday at Tragana, central Greece, at 44.9C, according to meteo.gr.
A Mediterranean country accustomed to intense summer heatwaves, Greece last year experienced its hottest summer on record.
-
© AFP 2025
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Wildfires rip through Greek islands and mainland as EU aid arrives
Wildfires rip through Greek islands and mainland as EU aid arrives

The Journal

time3 days ago

  • The Journal

Wildfires rip through Greek islands and mainland as EU aid arrives

GREECE IS CURRENTLY battling major wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations since yesterday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later. The fronts were raging this morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital Athens, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn. Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas, but warned that Kythera continued to face 'worrying' windy conditions. Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese, early on Sunday as the fire was raging unabated. 'Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt,' Giorgos Komninos, deputy mayor of Kythera, told local outlet ERT News. 'A monastery is in direct danger right now,' he said, adding that half of the island had been burnt. Advertisement Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at house during a wildfire in the northwestern suburb of Kryoneri, in Athens. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted Saturday morning and forced the evacuation of a popular tourist beach. Greece had requested help from EU allies and two Italian aircraft were expected today, according to the fire brigade, with units from the Czech Republic already at work. Heatwave conditions Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials. Firefighters are working in several areas of the Peloponnese and there were several flare-ups overnight on the island of Evia, near Athens, where the flames have laid waste to swathes of forest and killed thousands of farm animals. Further south on Crete, reports said fires that broke out on Saturday afternoon and destroyed four houses and a church and largely been contained. Greece has endured heatwave conditions for almost a week, with temperatures passing 40 degrees Celsius in many areas, though the heat is expected to die down from Monday. Climate change is pushing average temperatures upwards around the world as humans continue to pump greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere that trap heat near the Earth's surface. Unsure of what exactly is happening with the earth's climate? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online. Visit Knowledge Bank

Horrified Brits reveal smouldering shell of Cyprus home torn apart by huge wildfire after fleeing with seconds to spare
Horrified Brits reveal smouldering shell of Cyprus home torn apart by huge wildfire after fleeing with seconds to spare

The Irish Sun

time5 days ago

  • The Irish Sun

Horrified Brits reveal smouldering shell of Cyprus home torn apart by huge wildfire after fleeing with seconds to spare

THIS is the moment a British family returned to their smouldering home in Cyprus after it was destroyed by a deadly wildfire. Lucy, 37, and Ben Armstrong, 38, grabbed their toddler, packed a few bags and bundled their three dogs into the car as flames closed in on their village of Souni. 9 Lucy and Ben Armstrong fled their home in Souni, Cyprus with their toddler Ethan 9 The damage to the family's home, captured in drone footage shot by Ben, who is a filmmaker 9 The family hoped their home might be spared as their neighbours' homes were The Armstrongs, who tied the knot last October, have called the quaint village home for the past four years. When they first saw smoke curling over the Troodos mountains, they didn't panic - plenty of wildfires hit the Mediterranean island every summer . But this time was different. It was the worst wildfire Cyprus had seen in half a century. Two people were killed in a car trying to flee, and over 70 houses were destroyed amid a scorching 43C heatwave. The fires began on Wednesday afternoon and swept across 40 square miles in the south, mainly in Limassol District, where the village of Souni is located. Speaking to The Sun, Ben said: "We lost everything that day, there's nothing left. "We had fish tanks in the house and there was absolutely nothing left of what was in the water except melted glass on the floor." The couple described the stress of packing in the dark as the flames neared - made worse by the bad luck of experiencing a power cut that day. Most read in The Sun They told their son Ethan to stuff as many toys as he could into a bag while they raced around the house grabbing what they could. Ben said: "Our son is quite defiant at times and he was so compliant. "He was really scared, because he knew mummy and daddy were panicking, and we were in the dark." Two burned alive in Cyprus & another 10 killed in Turkey in horror wildfires Discussing the day their lives were turned upside down, Lucy said it was 'a normal day'. She first noticed the smoke while picking up Ethan from kindergarten. "As I was driving back on the motorway I could see smoke up the hills towards where we live," she said. "The smoke just kept coming, it started getting thicker, covering the sun and the sun was turning red." By around 7pm the family of three decided to drive up to a viewpoint at the nearby village of Kyvides. There, all they could see was "a stretch of fire and smoke". In that moment, the couple knew they had to evacuate fast and quickly alerted their close-knit community on WhatsApp . Ben said: "We didn't realise how little time we had. I'm a filmmaker and photographer, so was upstairs in the office packing all my gear and shouting down to Lucy, 'how's it looking?' "She was saying, 'it's glowing over the hills'. That's when I looked out the window, and thought 'oh my god, you can see flames now'. Adding to the stress, the Armstrongs had been without water or electricity for 24 hours. Ben said: "We were in the dark, so we had to make sure we were keeping an eye on our three-year-old son while running around and still trying to pack stuff. "So I gave him a bag for life kind of thing and told him to grab as many toys as he wants." 9 The couple had been living in the home for the past four years 9 Lucy and Ben believe their home could have been saved if there had been more firefighting support in Souni 9 The sheer destruction to the family's home They left the house just before 9pm, rushing to Lucy's parents home, which is a 15-minute drive away. "We all stank of smoke and were sweating. Ethan's also been quite ill from the smoke in the last couple of days. "I'm pretty sure he's had some sort of smoke inhalation - or it could just be from the stress of the situation," Lucy said. After a sleepless night, fearing they might have to evacuate again and unsure if their home had survived, Ben set out at 5am. "I followed his location the whole way up and my heart was racing," Lucy said, weeping as she recalled it. "I called him as soon as he got to our home and he said, 'Lucy, it's gone'. "All the other houses on our street were okay, so he had hope he was going to come up to our home and everything would be fine." Lucy, who runs a kids' entertainment business , lost at least £8,000 worth of bouncy castles and bubble houses in the fire. But what upsets her the most is that it's the place where they have "so many memories", including Ethan taking his first steps . The couple said four officials from the Cypriot government showed up on Friday morning, asking them to list everything they'd lost - from white goods and TVs to couches - to claim money from the disaster relief fund. While they said the Cypriot government has been "really organised" in terms of its reparation efforts, the couple believe there were not enough resources to tackle the wildfires. "We didn't see any firefighters in our village, no police , no army. No one told us to evacuate, we were telling people to evacuate," Lucy said. The government has particularly faced criticism by residents and community leaders over its evacuations in Souni and Lofou and Souni. Speaking on state radio on Thursday, Cyprus' justice minister Marios Hartsiotis said the firefighting and rescue effort had been 'enormous' and that he had witnessed first-hand the wildfires' "shifting winds and intensity'. Lucy and Ben, who were told by "brave neighbours " that their house burnt down at around 2am in the morning, believe that it could have been saved if there had been greater assistance on the ground. Lucy said there are other families in Souni who feel the same. But the couple are choosing to focus on the positives, saying they've been deeply moved by the kindness of their community. "You never think you're going to be one of these people that are in need of handouts," Lucy said. "But the Cypriot people are just so kind. I can't speak highly enough of them." She noted that Ethan's headteacher has given him clothes and is even buying him new shoes, while parents from the school have been keen to donate money. Christos, the owner of their local taverna, has opened up despite having no power or water, and taken it upon himself to feed the community, Lucy said. The family plans to eventually move back to the village of Souni and rebuild their home and their lives. Read more on the Irish Sun "We love the people in that area. It's a beautiful area, it will recover," said Lucy, adding that she hopes to organise re-planting fire-resistant trees. For now, with the village still reeking of smoke and memories of their destroyed home still raw, they're grateful to be living elsewhere - and to be alive. 9 The couple's burnt home 9 Burnt homes in Souni 9 Residents try to extinguish the blazes Credit: AP

Wildfires kill over 10 people across Cyprus and Turkey as heatwave intensifies in Greece
Wildfires kill over 10 people across Cyprus and Turkey as heatwave intensifies in Greece

The Journal

time6 days ago

  • The Journal

Wildfires kill over 10 people across Cyprus and Turkey as heatwave intensifies in Greece

A MASSIVE WILDFIRE has killed two people as it ripped through forests outside Cyprus's second city of Limassol, while at least 10 forest workers and rescuers were killed yesterday near Eskisehir in western Turkey while battling a wildfire. It comes as Greece announced plans to 'urgently' overhaul its water management as temperatures continued to rise during a week-long heatwave. In Cyprus, wildfires have been fanned by strong winds and temperatures forecast to reach 44C, authorities said today. Police said two charred bodies were found in a burnt out car believed to have been caught up in the blaze that erupted yesterday afternoon. The cause of the blaze is 'still under investigation', but high 'temperatures, strong winds and drought… made the situation even more difficult' said government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis. The Orthodox Church of Agios Ioannis Rossos stands burned in Vouni village, Cyprus Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Announcing relief measures for the affected communities, Letymbiotis earlier said that 'what is unfolding in our country… is unprecedented' with 'multiple simultaneous wildfire outbreaks'. Health authorities said two people were admitted to hospital with severe burns while another 16 were treated for less serious injuries. The blaze started in the village of Malia in the hills above Limassol and ravaged 100 square kilometres. There are currently 'no active fronts' in the fire but intense 'flare-ups' continue in the area. A firefighter along with her colleagues try to extinguish a fire in Souni village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire, Thursday, 24 July Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Cyprus has asked neighbouring countries to send aircraft to support the firefighting effort. Letymbiotis said firefighting aircraft had arrived from Jordan, with more expected from Egypt, Israel and Spain 'as soon as possible', alongside assistance from the British air force base in the island's south. Cyprus is hit by wildfires almost every year during the island's hot, dry summers. Turkey In Turkey, a wildfire killed at least 10 forest workers and rescuers yesterday who were battling to douse the flames near Eskisehir in western Turkey. High temperatures and strong winds have fanned the wildfire between Istanbul and the capital Ankara since Tuesday morning, with the spread threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of several villages. The victims were wrong-footed when the flames suddenly changed direction, causing them to be 'burnt alive', according to news website BirGun. Advertisement Twenty-four workers were caught in the 'brusque evolution of the flames' of whom 14 were being treated in hospital, Agriculture minister Ibrahim Yumakli told broadcasters yesterday evening. Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday under temperatures between six to 12 degrees above the seasonal norms and several fires have been declared. Greece Elsewhere, Greece yesterday announced plans to 'urgently' overhaul its water management as temperatures continued to rise during a week-long heatwave. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the cabinet had discussed plans to make water companies more 'viable', noting that reserves in Athens were down 50% compared to three years ago. There will be additional use of desalination technology and water reuse, the premier's office said, adding that Greece globally ranked 19th in terms of drought risk. The National Observatory of Athens recently warned that, following high temperatures and low rainfall in June, almost all of Greece displayed above-normal drought levels for this time of year. Temperatures have continued to rise in a heatwave expected to last until Sunday. A tourist holding an umbrella against the sun passes by the Acropolis, which remained closed for five hours due the new heat wave in Athens Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo In Athens yesterday, the heat reached 36.3C around 1:30 pm. It is expected to rise to 42C today. To protect visitors and guards, Greek authorities have closed the Acropolis in Athens during the hottest hours of the day, between 1:00pm and 6:00pm, until tomorrow. 'The asphalt is boiling' The Greek government has also banned outdoor work in several sectors during the hottest hours to minimise health risks. 'It's inhumane to work in such conditions. The asphalt is boiling,' Panagiotis Arvanitidis, 35, a member of the food delivery workers' union in the Thessaloniki region (north), told AFP. 'The ambient temperature in my home over the past two days has exceeded 30C,' said 50-year-old medical saleswoman Anna Spania. 'Without air conditioning, survival is impossible!' she added. The heatwave's highest temperatures so far were recorded on Tuesday at Tragana, central Greece, at 44.9C, according to A Mediterranean country accustomed to intense summer heatwaves, Greece last year experienced its hottest summer on record. - © AFP 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store