World

Two pilots die after firefighting plane crashes

Jul 26, 2023

Athens [Greece], July 26: Emergency teams were fighting flames non-stop on dozens of fronts on Tuesday, Greek government minister VassilisKikilias said.
Crete, the largest Greek island, has been put on high alert, with residents warned there is an "extreme risk" of fire.
More evacuation flights are taking place from Rhodes, while more than 20,000 people have been evacuated from homes and resorts in recent days.
An international panel of scientists has said the current conditions could not possibly have happened without human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, the Italian island of Sicily has been battling fires overnight after weeks of record-breaking temperatures.
Local media warned that the city of Palermo was "encircled" by fires, including a blaze that forced the temporary closure of Palermo airport on Tuesday.
Northern Italy has been reeling from violent storms and high winds that have uprooted trees and lifted roofs off buildings.
In some places, tennis ball-sized hailstones injured people, damaged cars and destroyed crop
Algeria has also been battling to control wildfires along its Mediterranean coast that have killed at least 34 people.
A number of people suffered burn injuries and smoke inhalation, while more than 1,500 were evacuated from fires in 16 provinces.
An outbreak of 97 fires had mostly been brought under control, but 13 were still raging on Tuesday afternoon, the interior ministry said.
In neighbouring Tunisia, where temperatures up to 49C (120F) were recorded, officials said authorities were investigating the causes of forest fires that had broken out across the country in recent days.
One of the most severe fires in Maloula, near the Algerian border, has been brought under control after thousands were evacuated.
A forestry official has called for anyone found to have started the fires deliberately to be prosecuted "with an iron fist".
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation