Forest fire rages on the holiday island of Crete
Greek firefighters have been battling a fire on the popular holiday island of Crete since Wednesday afternoon.
At least 155 firefighters are involved in the extinguishing work, and more are on the way, according to the Greek fire service.
The flames have engulfed a forest area around the town of Ierapetra on the south coast of Crete.
The authorities have evacuated around 3,000 residents and tourists from the town of Achlia, west of Ierapetra, and three other residential areas on Greece's largest island.
The evacuees have been taken to temporary accommodation, the authorities say.
There have been no reports of injuries so far.
Strong winds have made extinguishing work difficult, and Greek television is reporting that several houses have been damaged.
Several firefighters are on their way from the capital Athens to take part in the difficult extinguishing work.
- It is a difficult fire, which is still ongoing, an unnamed firefighter told Reuters.
It is unclear what caused the ongoing fire in Crete.
The hot and dry summer months mean that wildfires often occur in Greece.
In addition to the fire in Crete, Greek firefighters were also deployed on Wednesday evening to extinguish a fire that had broken out on the small island of Kythira, as well as a fire in Halkidiki on the mainland.
The Greek authorities have blamed climate change for the fact that several devastating wildfires have occurred in recent years.
Crete is a popular tourist destination for Danes during the summer months. Several Danish travel companies organize trips to the Greek holiday island.
The travel company Apollo stated last year that eight out of ten of the company's customers in 2024 had booked a summer holiday in Greece - with Crete as the most popular destination.
/ritzau/Reuters
