Tourists Evacuated From 5 Hotels On Greek Island Of Samos Due To Wildfires - Reports

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2019) Tourists were evacuated from five hotels on the Greek island of Samos due to raging wildfires in the region, the Skai broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing the island's authorities.

The fire began in the afternoon in the tourist area of Mesokampos near hotels and apartment buildings. As many as 31 firefighters, 13 fire-trucks, four aircraft and two helicopters were sent to extinguish it, supported by additional forces and dozens of volunteers in the later hours.

At first, two hotels were evacuated as a precaution, then three more, the mayor of the island Christodoulos Sevastakis told the broadcaster.

About a thousand people were evacuated, some of them by sea. Hundreds of tourists staying in hotels in the area were evacuated by tourist buses.

It the recent days, strong wildfires also occurred in several other areas of Greece amid heat and strong winds blowing. According to firefighters, there were 56 forest fires over the past day throughout the country, most of them were put out at the initial stage.