They cause a fire by shooting fireworks from a yacht: thirteen people arrested in Greece

Dans les jours qui ont précédé ce feu, la Grèce a déjà été frappée par plusieurs incendies. MAXPPP – Nikolas Georgiou

Thirteen people were arrested this Saturday, June 22, for starting a fire on the island of Hydra, Greece. Fireworks fired from a yacht were the cause of the fire.

A forest fire on the Greek tourist island of Hydra, near Athens, was started by fireworks fired from a yacht this Friday, June 21. “The fire, caused by fireworks being fired from a boat, is burning the island's only pine forest, in a location that is difficult to access and has no roads”, denounced the island's seasonal firefighters on Facebook, with supporting photo, arousing anger on social networks.

The fire was quickly brought under control and no longer threatens the forest. The island’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, said "outraged that some people would so irresponsibly set off fireworks in a pine forest’ ;quot;, on the public television channel ERT. He added that "the municipality would file a civil suit against those responsible for the fire as soon as the preliminary investigation was completed".

An island without forest roads

Thirteen people accused of starting this fire were arrested this Saturday, June 22 after the investigation carried out by the firefighters and must be presented to the prosecutor on Sunday. Greece recently toughened penalties for arson. The perpetrators of the fires can now be sentenced to up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 euros.

On the television channel Skai, Mr. Koukoudakis also asked the authorities to act, emphasizing the fact that "the island has no fire zones or forest roads" allowing firefighters to ;access certain areas.

Saturday, civil protection called for the greatest vigilance while the risk of fire "remains very high" particularly in the region of Attica, which surrounds the Greek capital, in the Peloponnese and in the center of the country.

Already several fires during the previous days

A raging fire on the Cycladic island of Andros led to the evacuation of four villages and mobilized two water bombers and six helicopters. Reinforcements from Athens were expected in the evening

A 55-year-old man, resident of the village of Myrtia in the Peloponnese, died this Friday in a forest fire. In the country, 45 new fires fueled by strong winds were recorded, according to firefighters.

Since Wednesday, June 19, the authorities have continued to warn of the "very high risk" of forest fire due to strong winds and high temperatures which in some areas reached 40 degrees Celsius.

No stranger to heat waves, Greece has been preparing for weeks for a particularly difficult summer in terms of heat waves and forest fires after having suffered the hottest winter in its history .

The Mediterranean country went through its first heatwave last week with temperatures locally reaching more than 44 °C. It had already experienced devastating fires that caused more than twenty deaths and a two-week heatwave at more than 40 °C, unprecedented in its duration, in 2023.