Firefighting plane crashes in Greece as fires rage out of control, new evacuations ordered
RHODES, Greece − A firefighting plane crashed Tuesday in southern Greece as authorities battled fires across the country amid a return of heat wave temperatures.
The plane crashed on the island of Evia. A state television broadcast showed the low-flying aircraft disappearing into a canyon before a fireball erupted moments later. There was no immediate information about the plane's crew.
A third successive heat wave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 104 degrees across parts of the country Tuesday after more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days.
'There was panic': 19,000 evacuate as wildfires rage near hotels in Rhodes, Greece
Latest evacuations
The latest evacuation orders were issued on the islands of Corfu and Evia. A blaze on the island of Rhodes was moving inland, torching mountainous forest areas, including a part of a nature reserve.
Desperate residents, many of them with wet towels around their necks to stave off the scorching heat, used shovels to beat back flames approaching their homes as firefighting planes and helicopters resumed water drops at first light. “For the 12th day, under extreme conditions of heat and strong winds, we are fighting nonstop on dozens of forest fire fronts. ... The Greek Fire Service has battled more than 500 fires − more than 50 a day,” said Vassilis Kikilias, the minister for climate crisis and civil protection.
Authorities said more than 20,000 people have been caught up in successive evacuations on Rhodes, most of them weekend tourists as fires swept through two coastal areas on the southeast part of the island.
Among them was Serbian basketball star Philip Petrusev, a player for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, who was vacationing on Rhodes with his partner, Tiana Sumakovic. In a series of online posts, Sumakovic described frantic scenes as she and Petrusev escaped the fire. “The fire got got very close and we had to run,” Sumakovic wrote, captioning videos of the fire. “We were choking on the smoke and ran as far as we could ... we eventually made it to safety.”
'Big balls of fire': Thousands flee historic Greek blazes as flames race near hotels
Hundreds of firefighters deployed
The European Union has sent 500 firefighters, 100 vehicles and seven planes from 10 member states. Turkey, Israel, Egypt and other countries also have sent help. Contributing nations included Italy, which was dealing with its own fires and extreme weather. On the island of Sicily, Palermo's international airport temporarily shut down as flames from a wildfire approached. But in Italy's northern Lombardy region, a powerful storm caused flooding, power outages and was blamed for the death of a 16-year-old girl at a scouts camp.
In Athens, authorities resumed afternoon closing hours at the ancient Acropolis as part of broader measures to cope with the heat.
EU officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires across the European continent, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Firefighting plane crashes in Greece as blazes rage out of control
