Magda Panoutsopoulou
20 July 2022•Update: 22 July 2022
ATHENS
A wildfire near Mount Pendeli, about 25 kilometers (approximately 15 miles) northeast of Athens, raged for a second day on Wednesday, with 30 people taken to hospital, three with burn injuries and others with breathing difficulties.
Nine settlements, as well as the staff and patients of a children's hospital in the area, have already been evacuated and relocated to safer places, local media reported.
According to Skai TV, around 30 people have been transported to hospitals so far, three of whom had burn injuries and others suffering from respiratory difficulties.
Strong winds in the area have hampered the efforts of 500 firefighters to put out the fire, which has prompted hundreds of people to flee their homes, leaving everything behind, and several houses and cars have already perished in the raging flames.
Air gusts in the Pendeli area have been recorded at 75-85 kilometers per hour.
Meanwhile, an 83-year-old resident with self-inflicted shotgun wounds was retrieved from the area.
According to the media, the man was frustrated after seeing his house burn down for the third time during the wildfire.
Currently, firefighting forces are working in Dioni and Dasamari up to Marathonos Avenue to prevent the fire from spreading to other settlements.
Some 500 firefighters are in the area, assisted by nine firefighting planes and 10 helicopters, one of which is used to coordinate air operations, fire brigade spokesperson Yiannis Artopios said in an emergency press briefing.
He said a smaller front is burning west of the Drafi settlement, while various fires are raging in the Anthousa area.
"All civil protection forces are working incessantly in the field. Safeguarding human life remains our top priority, as does the protection of crucial public sector infrastructure of vital importance and the private property of citizens," Artopios said, adding that investigation teams are already working to determine the cause of the fire.
