CLIMATE CRISIS
Greece wildfires: Three dead as winds disrupt ferries, evacuationsAFP
8 Aug, 2025
Three people, including two Vietnamese tourists, died in Greece as wildfires were fuelled by strong winds. Photo / Aris Messinis, AFP
Three people including two Vietnamese tourists have died in Greece as ferocious winds whipped up wildfires and disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers.
More than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a blaze in Keratea southeast of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television.
“It’s a difficult fire,” he said, citing gusts of wind and reporting that several communities had been evacuated.
Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly person inside their burned home in Keratea and the wind was hampering water bombers’ ability to operate, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a press briefing.
An AFP journalist in the nearby town of Palaia Fokaia, around 45km south of Athens, saw fire consume a house and thick smoke choke the air.
Firefighters were sprinting to direct hoses and douse the flames, while a helicopter swooped overhead to drop water.
Earlier, a separate blaze on the island of Cephalonia was brought under control, local officials said, while the situation “has improved” on the Peloponnese peninsula west of Athens, Vathrakogiannis announced.
The civil protection ministry had said wind gusts would reach 88km/h, especially in the southern Aegean and the Sea of Crete.
National weather service EMY said the gusts would weaken after midnight, but the civil protection ministry placed several areas under the highest alert for wildfires on Saturday, including the Attica region, which includes Athens.
Over 200 firefighters and multiple aircraft battled the blaze in Keratea, southeast of Athens. Photo / Aris Messinis, AFP
The coastguard had earlier said a Vietnamese man and woman from a cruise ship group had died at the Sarakiniko beach on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades.
“The man and woman were found unconscious in the sea and were taken to the local health centre,” a coastguard spokeswoman said.
“The woman fell in the water and the man apparently tried to save her.”
The gales confined many ferries to port, the main mode of transport connecting thousands of islands and their crucial tourism sector.
The coastguard said most ferries were unable to depart on schedule from Piraeus and other Athens ports, especially to the Cyclades or Dodecanese islands. Several services were cancelled and others postponed.
At Piraeus, hundreds of travellers crowded outside a ferry bound for the Cycladic islands of Paros and Naxos, waiting for news on a possible departure.
Nearby, stranded travellers surrounded by rucksacks and suitcases formed a huge queue outside a ticket office and made desperate phone calls hoping to make rearrangements to save their journeys.
“There’s huge lines, huge commotion, everyone’s waiting in the sun and it’s a very tough time,” said Philip Elias, an American tourist.
Maritime connections with the Saronic islands near Athens including Aegina, Hydra, Poros and Spetses and the Ionian Sea were unaffected, the coastguard said.
Strong winds are common in Greece at this time of year, and firefighters have already faced several major blazes this summer, including on the islands of Evia and Chios as well as in the western Peloponnese.
– Agence France-Presse
The coastguard had earlier said a Vietnamese man and woman from a cruise ship group had died at the Sarakiniko beach on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades.
“The man and woman were found unconscious in the sea and were taken to the local health centre,” a coastguard spokeswoman said.
“The woman fell in the water and the man apparently tried to save her.”
The gales confined many ferries to port, the main mode of transport connecting thousands of islands and their crucial tourism sector.
The coastguard said most ferries were unable to depart on schedule from Piraeus and other Athens ports, especially to the Cyclades or Dodecanese islands. Several services were cancelled and others postponed.
At Piraeus, hundreds of travellers crowded outside a ferry bound for the Cycladic islands of Paros and Naxos, waiting for news on a possible departure.
Nearby, stranded travellers surrounded by rucksacks and suitcases formed a huge queue outside a ticket office and made desperate phone calls hoping to make rearrangements to save their journeys.
“There’s huge lines, huge commotion, everyone’s waiting in the sun and it’s a very tough time,” said Philip Elias, an American tourist.
Maritime connections with the Saronic islands near Athens including Aegina, Hydra, Poros and Spetses and the Ionian Sea were unaffected, the coastguard said.
Strong winds are common in Greece at this time of year, and firefighters have already faced several major blazes this summer, including on the islands of Evia and Chios as well as in the western Peloponnese.
– Agence France-Presse
Greece fights wildfires amid gale-force winds
Locals try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Keratea, near Athens, Greece, on Aug 8, 2025.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ON August 08, 2025
ATHENS - At least one person died and homes and farmlands were destroyed as wildfires stoked by gale-force winds broke out across Greece on Friday (Aug 8), from the southern outskirts of the capital Athens to regions near Ancient Olympia.
A major blaze broke out in the small town of Keratea southwest of Athens. Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure there, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing.
In the region of Ancient Olympia in the southwest of the country, huge flames devoured olive groves and forestland. Another fire broke out on the touristy island of Kefalonia.
Much of the region around Athens has seen barely a drop of rain in months.
Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour fanned the flames, setting olive tree orchards alight. Homes were engulfed as locals wearing flimsy face masks assisted firefighters.
Witnesses said the wind gusts were so strong that dousing some areas was near impossible.
"The wind would push it back," a Keratea resident told Reuters.
High winds are expected through the weekend and beyond.
At Ancient Olympia, an extensive region in the western Peloponnese that includes the site of the first Olympic Games, firefighters were battling a blaze fanned by interchanging winds.
"If the wind doesn't die down we will have huge problems," Ancient Olympia vice-mayor Georgios Linardos told state broadcaster ERT.
Gale-force winds caused extensive delays in the sailing of ferry boats from ports around Athens. On the island of Milos, two Vietnamese holidaymakers drowned at sea amid the high gusts, a coast guard official said.
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Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach.
Parched southern France is currently facing its worst wildfire in decades, where fires are contained but not over.
Source: Reuters
Locals try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Keratea, near Athens, Greece, on Aug 8, 2025.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ON August 08, 2025
ATHENS - At least one person died and homes and farmlands were destroyed as wildfires stoked by gale-force winds broke out across Greece on Friday (Aug 8), from the southern outskirts of the capital Athens to regions near Ancient Olympia.
A major blaze broke out in the small town of Keratea southwest of Athens. Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure there, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing.
In the region of Ancient Olympia in the southwest of the country, huge flames devoured olive groves and forestland. Another fire broke out on the touristy island of Kefalonia.
Much of the region around Athens has seen barely a drop of rain in months.
Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour fanned the flames, setting olive tree orchards alight. Homes were engulfed as locals wearing flimsy face masks assisted firefighters.
Witnesses said the wind gusts were so strong that dousing some areas was near impossible.
"The wind would push it back," a Keratea resident told Reuters.
High winds are expected through the weekend and beyond.
At Ancient Olympia, an extensive region in the western Peloponnese that includes the site of the first Olympic Games, firefighters were battling a blaze fanned by interchanging winds.
"If the wind doesn't die down we will have huge problems," Ancient Olympia vice-mayor Georgios Linardos told state broadcaster ERT.
Gale-force winds caused extensive delays in the sailing of ferry boats from ports around Athens. On the island of Milos, two Vietnamese holidaymakers drowned at sea amid the high gusts, a coast guard official said.
Read Also
world
Massive French wildfire now contained, 16,000 hectares affected, local authorities say
Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach.
Parched southern France is currently facing its worst wildfire in decades, where fires are contained but not over.
Source: Reuters
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