Europe’s heatwave turns deadly after 18 burned bodies found in Greek fires
- The bodies, found south of the village of Avantas in northern Greece, were thought to be of migrants, as the area is a popular route crossing from Turkey
- Blazes are also being battled in Spain, Italy and Portugal as the region suffers hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change
Eighteen charred bodies were found in a remote village in northern Greece on Tuesday, where wildfires have been raging for days, the fire brigade said as a heatwave hitting southern Europe turned deadly.
Greek media, without citing sources, said the bodies found south of the village of Avantas in northern Greece were thought to be of migrants. The broader Evros region is a popular route for migrants crossing from Turkey into Greece.
On Monday, the burned body of another man believed to be a migrant was found in the region, a local police official said.
Firefighters were also battling blazes in Spain, Italy and Portugal as well was two new blazes that broke out near the Greek capital, Athens, as the region suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.
In Spain, where most of the country was in very high or extreme risk of wildfire as a consequence of the summer’s fourth heatwave, authorities were struggling to stabilise a huge wildfire that has been ravaging forests on the island of Tenerife for a week.
Temperatures were likely to reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in large areas of the southwest and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, national weather agency AEMET said.
In the Greek port town of Alexandroupolis, not far from Avantason, wildfires forced the evacuation of dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies. A ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital.