Thousands evacuated as fires rage in tourist areas of Greece and Türkiye

Greek firefighters try to control a fire in the southeast of the island of Crete on Thursday (3), which forced the evacuation of around 5,000 people, mainly tourists, while in Turkey, several fires are advancing in the tourist province of Izmir, where one person died.

In Crete, one of Greece's top tourist destinations, the fire broke out on Wednesday.

"Preventive evacuations of around 3,000 tourists and 2,000 residents were carried out mainly on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, after an emergency message was sent by authorities" in this region near the coastal city of Ierapetra, Yorgos Tzarakis, president of the region's hoteliers' union, told AFP.

Another fire broke out on Thursday afternoon about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the capital Athens, near the tourist port town of Rafina.

An “emergency message for the evacuation” of villages near the flames was sent to mobile phones, fire chief Kostas Tsigas told ERT.

Around 170 firefighters, 48 ​​vehicles, 17 planes and seven helicopters were mobilized to contain the flames in the region.

Smoke spread as far as the outskirts of the Greek capital's international airport but did not disrupt air traffic. The main road to Athens had been closed but was reopened this afternoon after the situation improved, Greek firefighters said.

However, they warned that the coming days “are going to be difficult” in Greece due to forecast rising temperatures, combined with strong winds.

In neighboring Turkey, two fires have been burning forest areas since Wednesday night near the western city of Izmir, driven by winds of more than 85 km/h.

An elderly man died in a fire near Odemis, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Izmir, in one of three evacuated towns in the area, Salih Uzun, a member of the opposition CHP party, told Halk TV.

“The village was evacuated, but an elderly man, who was bedridden, could not be saved,” he said.

A forestry worker also died in this city while fighting the flames, Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli announced on X.

Another large fire was raging near Cesme, about 80 kilometers west of Izmir, forcing the evacuation of three other towns.

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