Two dead and hundreds evacuated as wildfires break out near Athens

Two people died and and hundreds were evacuated after two fires broke out “almost simultaneously” on a Greek island near Athens on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

About 200 firefighters were deployed to keep the twin fires from converging on the island of Salamina, which was under a high wildfire risk on Sunday.

The first blaze was reported at 14:40 local time (11:40 GMT) near the island’s south coast and spread rapidly due to high winds, followed by a separate fire some 20 minutes later in the east. Their cause is not yet known.

One of the fires had been brought under control and evacuations completed by Sunday evening, Greek media report, with 500 people having left the island by sea.

The first blaze broke out in a forested residential area in Peristeria, a southern city on the island, fire official Vasilios Vathrakoyannis said in a statement.

Firefighters attending the blaze found two bodies at the scene, he said. The city’s mayor told Greek media they were believed to have been a couple.

Firefighters continued to battle scattered blazes there late on Sunday, while the second fire which began in the eastern town of Selinia was said to have “no active front”.

Two coast guard vessels and a fire department vessel will remain in the area for surveillance and assistance.

At least 10 other people suffered burns or showed “symptoms of smoke inhalation”, five of whom had been taken for treatment locally, Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiades said on X.

A number of aircraft and 50 fire engines, assisted by water tankers and construction machinery, were deployed to try and tackle the two fires.

Salamina Deputy Mayor Thodoris Zannis earlier said this was to keep the fires from burning over a mountain on the island and meeting to form a single blaze.