Balkans | Mitsotakis described fighting the forest fires in Rhodes as “war”.

Regarding the forest fires in Rhodes, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “We are at war. We will rebuild what we have lost, we will cover the losses. Our primary concern should be the preservation of human life.” He said.

In his speech in parliament, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, noted that the fires started more easily due to the prolonged heat and strong winds, and said that no measures taken against the fire were sufficient.

Mitsotakis stated that the island of Rhodes was severely affected by the fires that broke out a week ago and have not yet been extinguished.

Mitsotakis stated that thousands of people have been transferred to safe places in Rhodes.

Mikotakis thanked the teams and volunteers who took part in the firefighting and evacuation operations and said, “We are at war. We will rebuild what we have lost, we will cover the losses. Our primary concern must be to protect human life. There is not enough action in the face of nature’s fury. Over the next few weeks, we must all be on constant alert.” Use his statements.

While the wildfires, which started a week ago on the island of Rhodes, continued to spread uncontrollably, it was reported that 19,000 people had been evacuated from the area on 22 July.

“This evacuation is the largest evacuation operation to be carried out in the country so far,” the statement from the Greek Climate Ministry read.

The fires, which were initially confined to the island’s interior mountain regions, spread to the coastal areas where the luxury hotels are located, with the effect of strong winds, high temperature and dry air.

Evacuation was difficult as telephone communication was lost in some parts of the island.

Greek media reported that the evacuees spent the night in gyms, schools and conference centers, and it was recorded that many panicked tourists tried to leave the island by going to Rhodes Airport.

To combat the ongoing forest fires in Greece, two amphibious firefighting aircraft and a firefighting helicopter belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry arrived in Athens on July 22, with a flight crew of nine, on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

AA