Greece faces more than 20 fires

Greece is facing more than 20 fires on Wednesday in what is considered a "very difficult day" due to strong wind gusts, firefighters spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said.

During Wednesday morning, 33 planes and 4,850 firefighters were mobilized on all fronts, Vathrakoyannis said.

The fire department reported that the country has 23 active fires, one of them near Patras, the country's third-largest city.

"Without a doubt, these are the most difficult 24 hours of fighting fire," Kostas Tsigas, president of the Union of Fire Officers, told local broadcaster ERT.

“Yesterday alone, there were 82 fires, a very high number that, combined with the violent winds, drought and high temperatures, created enormous difficulties,” said Tsigas.

Since last week, Greece has been experiencing winds of over 80 km/h. The fires have left three people dead since Friday, two of them Vietnamese tourists.

The national meteorological service predicts that temperatures will reach 40°C this Wednesday in some regions of the country, particularly in the western Peloponnese.

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