Two dead in simultaneous fires on Greek island of Salamis, hundreds evacuated

Two people died in fires that broke out simultaneously Sunday on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens, the fire department said. Hundreds were evacuated earlier.

"Two bodies were recovered" from the Peristeria beach area in the south of the island, a fire department spokesman said.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of people were evacuated. "There are hundreds of bathers and permanent residents, an evacuation order has been issued," fire department's spokesman Yiannis Artopios said.


The civil protection ministry issued four evacuation orders in short succession as the fires broke out "almost simultaneously" in two popular bathing areas in the island's south and east, Artopios said. "It is a difficult fire... inside an inhabited area," he said. The fire service mobilised a large force of some 150 firefighters, 32 engines, four aircraft and six helicopters, the spokesman said.