Greek Firefighters Fight Deadly Wildfires on Crete for Second Day

ATHENS, July 30 - Greek firefighters were fighting deadly wildfires on the island of Crete for a second day on Thursday, as blazes continue to spread across Europe after days of destructive fires in Spain and France.*

On Wednesday, three Greek firefighters died while tackling blazes amid strong winds on Crete and on the mainland, and two more were slightly injured.

Hundreds of residents and tourists were evacuated Wednesday from Krya Vrysi and other nearby villages by sea and by land in the central part of the island as high winds drove the fire out of control near popular vacation areas.

On Thursday, more than 200 firefighters with dozens of fire trucks and water-dropping aircraft fought two wildfires on the island of Crete, where farm crops and olive groves were destroyed and warehouses and several houses were damaged.

"Unfortunately there is no improvement, and the latest information indicates that winds will pick up later in the day," said Giorgos Tsapakos, deputy regional governor for civil protection on Crete, on SKAI TV.

"Aircraft couldn’t operate this morning because of the strong winds," he said.

On Wednesday, the head of the EU’s emergency response centre said Greece and Italy were set in the coming weeks.