The Greek authorities found this Tuesday 27 charred bodies near the Dadia forest, bordering the Greek-Turkish border, where a forest fire broke out yesterday that has not yet been controlled.
The firefighters believe that they are migrants or asylum seekers because Athens has not received any missing person notices. in that area. “Eighteen people appeared burned near the Dadia forest, according to information provided by Civil Protection. The possibility that these people entered our country illegally is being investigated,” the representative of the fire department, Giannis Artophios, told the Greek state broadcaster. ERT. The body count then rose to 27.
The bodies were found near a cabin on the outskirts of the town of Avantas as firefighters were inspecting the charred remains of a building. Avantas and 11 other towns in the Evros region were evacuated Monday morning as the fire spread rapidly. The region affected by the fires is part of one of the routes of migrants and asylum seekers who cross overland from Turkey to Greece. Yesterday another charred body was found in a town near Alexandroupolis.
The authorities also believe that it could be a migrant or asylum seeker. Faced with this situation, the emergency services sent 112 loudspeaker announcements to evacuate the area and sent text messages asking the population to leave the area. Another five deaths related to forest fires were recorded in July, two of them air force pilots who died when their plane crashed while descending to fight a fire on the island of Evia, near Athens.
A fire broke out last Sunday east of Alexandroupolis and has already affected more than 4,600 hectares. Last night the patients of the Alexandroupoli hospital were evacuated. Most were transported by sea, including various newborn babies and intensive care patients. A school, a dozen houses and a cemetery have burned in two towns near the coastal city.