Wildfires intensified across southern Europe on Wednesday with at least three deaths reported in Spain, Turkey and Albania.
Firefighting teams in several countries are struggling to contain numerous fires after weeks of heatwaves and soaring temperatures across the Mediterranean.
Emergency teams are working around the clock to protect the outskirts of Patras, Greece’s third-largest city, and blazes are raging on numerous Greek islands.
A British bar worker on Zakynthos has told Sky News how he joined emergency services and locals to help combat a “shocking” fire near a popular tourist resort.
Aircraft rotated between blazes on the western Greek mainland, the Patras area and Zakynthos. On the Greek island of Chios, exhausted firefighters slept on the roadside following a night-long shift.
Crews struggled to protect homes and agricultural facilities around the port city of Patras as flames tore through pine forests and olive groves. Columns of flames rose behind apartment blocks on the outskirts of the city and dozens of vehicles were torched.
Athens also provided aid to neighbouring Albania as part of a wider international response to tackle dozens of wildfires. An 80-year-old man died in a fire south of the capital Tirana, officials reported on Wednesday.
In Spain, a firefighting volunteer in the hard-hit Castile and Leon region north of Madrid, has died, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. Thousands have been displaced by evacuations in the region.
“The wildfire situation remains serious, and taking extra precautions is essential,” Mr Sanchez wrote in a post on social media.
In southern Turkey, officials said a forestry worker died on Wednesday while responding to a wildfire. The Forestry Ministry said the worker’s death was caused by an accident involving a fire truck, which also injured four others.
Since late June, Turkey has been fighting intense wildfires, resulting in 18 deaths so far, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who died in July.
British bar worker helps firefighters
On the popular Greek island of Zakynthos, also known as Zante, British national Richard Hall told Sky News on Wednesday that two fires were still raging on the island.
One of the fires started Tuesday night, and Mr Hall, along with colleagues from the Kostas Pool Bar Kalamaki and local residents, went to the scene to assist emergency teams.
“We do our best and obviously take advice from the emergency services before doing anything,” he said.
Mr Hall said helicopters were still circling the area on Wednesday.
“It’s shocking, but everybody is safe. The local government and authorities have been doing a fantastic job,” he said. Fellow Brits have also been helping local authorities, he added.
Mr Hall pointed out that the dry weather and dry grass increase the risk of more fires, especially those sparked by cigarettes, and called for caution.
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The European Union has been sending aid, including ground crews and water-dropping aircraft, to fire-stricken countries, even non-members.
Much of the recent help has focused on Montenegro, where wildfires near the capital Podgorica continue to burn.
“Natural disasters know no borders,” said Ljuban Tmusic, head of Montenegro’s civil protection agency. “Our resources clearly aren’t enough.”
