Main fires out; death toll rises to 65
The Associated Press Published: September 2, 2007
ATHENS, Greece: Three major fires that ravaged southern Greece for 10 days have been put out or brought under control, the Fire Service said Sunday.
The fires destroyed an estimated 190,000 hectares (469,000 acres) — most of it forest and farmland — prompting a massive relief effort but also criticism of Greece's conservative government for failing to safely evacuate villages before they were burned.
The death toll rose to 65 on Sunday when a man seriously burned in a fire on the island of Evia died in a hospital.
Authorities have not released any damage assessment, but an estimated 4,000 people lost their homes according to independent estimates based on claims for assistance by individuals and local authorities.
A Fire Service briefing report Sunday confirmed that two major fires were out and one in the southern Peloponnese region was contained.
Fires outside Megalopoli and Karytaina in the southern Peloponnese region were extinguished, the fire service said, while nine fighting planes and two helicopters had helped contain a blaze on Mount Parnon, further south.
Elsewhere in the region, six planes and four helicopters were involved in containing several other fires, all of which were described as "receding," the agency said.
Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras said on Sunday, "I am in the happy position to announce ... that all the (main) fires have been put out."
Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces general elections on Sept. 16, continued to survey fire-damaged areas, flying by helicopter over the island of Evia.
On Saturday, he flew over the Peloponnese with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who repeated European Union promises to provide Greece financial aid — likely to include €200 million (US$237 million) in emergency assistance and possibly a further €400 million (US$546 million) later.
"No one can remain the same after such events," Karamanlis was quoted as saying in an interview published Sunday in the Athens daily Kathimerini. He blamed the fires on arsonists.
"So many fires breaking out at the same time in different places. This cannot be a coincidence," Karamanlis said, reiterating his comments of last week.
A GPO poll for private Mega television gave the conservatives 37.4 percent approval, a 1.4 point lead over the opposition Socialists, based on a survey of 1,005 people questioned Friday. No margin of error was given. The conservatives won the 2004 elections with a 4.8-point advantage.
ATHENS, Greece: Three major fires that ravaged southern Greece for 10 days have been put out or brought under control, the Fire Service said Sunday.
The fires destroyed an estimated 190,000 hectares (469,000 acres) — most of it forest and farmland — prompting a massive relief effort but also criticism of Greece's conservative government for failing to safely evacuate villages before they were burned.
The death toll rose to 65 on Sunday when a man seriously burned in a fire on the island of Evia died in a hospital.
Authorities have not released any damage assessment, but an estimated 4,000 people lost their homes according to independent estimates based on claims for assistance by individuals and local authorities.
A Fire Service briefing report Sunday confirmed that two major fires were out and one in the southern Peloponnese region was contained.
Fires outside Megalopoli and Karytaina in the southern Peloponnese region were extinguished, the fire service said, while nine fighting planes and two helicopters had helped contain a blaze on Mount Parnon, further south.
Elsewhere in the region, six planes and four helicopters were involved in containing several other fires, all of which were described as "receding," the agency said.
Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras said on Sunday, "I am in the happy position to announce ... that all the (main) fires have been put out."
Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces general elections on Sept. 16, continued to survey fire-damaged areas, flying by helicopter over the island of Evia.
On Saturday, he flew over the Peloponnese with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who repeated European Union promises to provide Greece financial aid — likely to include €200 million (US$237 million) in emergency assistance and possibly a further €400 million (US$546 million) later.
"No one can remain the same after such events," Karamanlis was quoted as saying in an interview published Sunday in the Athens daily Kathimerini. He blamed the fires on arsonists.
"So many fires breaking out at the same time in different places. This cannot be a coincidence," Karamanlis said, reiterating his comments of last week.
A GPO poll for private Mega television gave the conservatives 37.4 percent approval, a 1.4 point lead over the opposition Socialists, based on a survey of 1,005 people questioned Friday. No margin of error was given. The conservatives won the 2004 elections with a 4.8-point advantage.
Labels: 10 days, 65, death toll, estimate, fire, forest destroyed, greece, helicopter, karytaina, megalopoli, mount parnon, peloponnese, plane, put out, southern, village
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