GREECE: Fierce fires that have killed 63 continue to rage in Greece

Foreign firefighters join forces to evacuate Greek fire victims to Red Cross camps. There's no end in sight to the fires which have killed 63 people in Greece and devastated large areas of the country. Fires continued to burn around and above the town of Plutochori after a day of blazes on Monday (August 27) which destroyed the hills. The village of Frexea had to be evacuated earlier in the day and smoke and burning trees made the roads dangerous and unbreathable. The fire then moved to the other side of the mountain above Kalivakia's lemon groves. On Tuesday (August 28), help was at hand. A team of 22 Israeli firefighters were trying to put out the flames with the help of French canadair planes. One, Lior Sharabi, says if they had the equipment they are used to working with, the job would be much easier. And they need more help from the helicopters. The fires have been raging across Greece since Friday and Sharabi says they could go on for days. At least two camps have been set up to give shelter to the homeless. One of them is in Zacharos, an area destroyed by the fires on the first night. The Hellenic Red Cross and the boy scout organization have erected tents that can accommodate up to 200 people. But Vassilios Hatzopoulos, a Red Cross volunteer, says most people stay with relatives. The camp was set up in a tourist caravan site. Most tourists left the area after Friday's devastating fires. Just three remained including an Austrian man who had just arrived. He said the atmosphere was "extremely gloomy". One Italian described it as "like a scene from the disaster movie 'The Day After'". "It's a natural disaster. I weep for the people who have died" said Graziella. The Greek government has offered rewards of up to one million euros (1.4 million U.S. dollars) for help in tracking down arsonists and asked a public prosecutor to see if they can be charged as terrorists.

ITN Source | August 29, 2007

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