A wildfire breaks out on the Greek island of Salamis, killing two people. Many European countries are ravaged by wildfires

China News Service, Beijing, August 17th, Athens News: A wildfire broke out on the Greek island of Salamis on the 16th local time, killing 2 people and 593 local people were evacuated.

According to reports from the Greek Daily News, Reuters and other media, on the afternoon of the 16th, a wildfire broke out in a forest residential area near the south coast of Salamis Island. Due to strong winds that day, the fire spread rapidly. About 20 minutes after the first fire, another fire broke out in the eastern part of the island. Hundreds of firefighters quickly rushed into the fire rescue.

As of that night, the fire on the island was basically under control, and a total of 593 people were evacuated from the beach area of ​​Salamis Island. Firefighters found the bodies of an elderly couple at the site of the fire. In addition, at least 10 people were burned or injured due to smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Salamis is located in the Saronic Gulf west of the Greek capital Athens and has about 37,000 residents, many of whom are elderly. This place is also an important island and tourist resort in the Athens metropolitan area.

According to reports from the Associated Press and the British Broadcasting Corporation, wildfires have been raging in many European countries in recent days due to hot and dry weather.

The largest wildfire on record in Belgium has occurred in eastern Belgium in recent days. As of the early morning of the 17th, the fire was still spreading, covering an area of ​​about 3,000 hectares.

In addition, many wildfires broke out in France, the United Kingdom, and Croatia. A large-scale wildfire broke out in Croatia on the 14th, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others.