2023-07-27 18:17:47
Authorities have ordered its evacuation after an explosion caused by a forest fire at an ammunition storage facility in a town in central Greece. A fire department spokesman said part of the ammunition store in a military barracks in Nea Anchialos near the port city of Volos in the Thessaly region has been “on fire” since the explosion. According to the Coast Guard, “30 people on ten boats” have been brought to safety so far.
According to the fire department, seven planes and three helicopters are fighting the fire to extinguish the flames that have been blazing in the region since Wednesday. Their use was “as far as possible because of the explosions,” said the fire department spokesman. According to media reports, weapons from F-16 fighter jets, cruise missiles and bombs weighing 450 and 900 kilograms are to be stored in the warehouse.
According to the port police, three coast guard patrol boats, 22 yachts and two tugboats were deployed to bring residents from the port of Nea Anchialos to the port of Volos. “This is a completely new situation,” the village mayor, Achilleas Beos, told Skai radio station. Shop windows “broke” and it was going to be “a tough night”.
The fires in the region broke out on Wednesday. The fire brigade, police and volunteers tried all night Thursday to get the fires in the vicinity of the port city of Volos under control. Six communities and villages around the city were evacuated early in the morning, and other towns were put on alert. The industrial area of the city remained closed as a precaution.
Greece has been suffering from extreme heat for two weeks, hundreds of firefighters are fighting forest fires raging across the country. Although the heat that has lasted for days should abate somewhat, strong winds have been forecast.
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