Thousands of people, mostly foreign tourists, have been evacuated in the eastern part of Crete due to a large-scale forest fire that still cannot be brought under control. About this informs Ekathimerini.
The fire broke out between the settlements of Ferma, Ahlia and Agia Photia. The spread of the fire is facilitated by a strong wind, which makes extinguishing the fire much more difficult. According to the fire service, the fire spread in three main directions.
“Wind gusts, reaching 9 points on the Beaufort scale, constantly create new fires, which makes the work of firefighters very difficult”, – said the spokesman of the fire service Yannis Vatrakogiannis.
230 firefighters, 46 fire engines, 10 helicopters, fire tanks, municipal engineering equipment and drones are involved in the district. The police, coast guard and medical services were also involved in the liquidation of the consequences. By order of the management of the fire department, special groups were created to investigate possible arsons.
So far, about 5,000 people, mostly foreign tourists staying in hotels, have been evacuated from the disaster zone. On the night of July 3, some of the evacuees were accommodated in hotels in neighboring regions, others were temporarily sheltered in the Ierapetra sports hall. As of now, three people with breathing problems, two with minor injuries and one person with limited mobility have been admitted to the Ierapetra hospital.
Firefighting continues, additional forces from Athens are being brought to the region. Due to the fire, there were interruptions with electricity and mobile communication throughout the night in a number of areas. The number of buildings destroyed by fire is currently unknown.
