Bodies of 27 suspected migrant fire victims found in northeastern Greece

Greek firefighters have found the charred bodies of at least 27 people, possibly irregular migrants, in the Dadia forest in northeastern Greece near the Turkish border.

First, the charred bodies of 18 people were found and soon after, the rescue teams found another group of eight people dead in Dadia National Park.

Initial reports suggest the dead may have been immigrants.

A coroner and an investigative team analyze the scene in the Dadia forest. The region of Evros in northeastern Greece, not far from the Turkish border, has been devastated by fires. Patients were transferred from a hospital when the fires reached Alexandroupolis.

Flames swept over the grounds of the city’s teaching hospital and newborn babies and intensive care patients were among those evacuated to a ferry docking in the city’s port.

Giannis Artopoios, a spokesman for the fire service, said the bodies belonged to people who “probably entered the country irregularly” after crossing the Evros River, which borders Turkey, and died in the fires that had raged in recent hours. outbreaks.

Police have activated a victim identification team and have begun to investigate what happened.

“A check carried out by the firefighters in the area has enabled them to find 18 bodies near a hut. Since no disappearances have been reported since yesterday, the possibility that they entered the country illegally is being investigated,” Artopoios said of the finding of the first 18 deceased.

Hours earlier, another charred corpse was found near that area that has not been identified and is now also suspected to be that of an immigrant in an irregular situation, bringing the number of bodies found today to 27.

Greek authorities fear that the death toll in the dense Dadia forest will rise in the coming days as it is a common area of ​​passage for those crossing from Turkey.

evacuations of residents

Several towns in the area have been evacuated due to the proximity of the flames, fueled by high temperatures, drought and high winds.

Artopios explained to the press that since yesterday, evacuation text messages have been sent to nearby mobile devices, including mobile phones from foreign networks.

In Greece, at least eight major fires are raging in different parts of the country, the most serious of which started on Saturday near the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis.

Dadia is north of that port city, from which the main hospital was evacuated this morning due to its proximity to the flames.

Greek media offers images of a red-colored sky due to flames, thick columns of smoke and an ash shower due to strong winds.

A ferry from the port welcomed 90 of the 204 patients at the General Hospital, while the rest have been transferred to other hospitals.

According to state television ERT, some explosions were heard on the grounds of the hospital, probably due to the explosion of oxygen tanks and other devices.

The clouds of smoke created by the fire are so large that they can be recognized on satellite images and stretch for hundreds of kilometers to the south of the country.

The high temperatures, the dryness in the environment and the wind, which increase the risk of fires, will continue in Greece until Friday, according to the meteorological services.

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