Crete fire kills two firefighters, official says
Two firefighters died while battling a forest fire on the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, deputy fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios said, as gale-force winds fed several blazes across Greece.
Artopios told AFP that two firefighters “fell in the line of duty”. State broadcaster ERT said the men had been trapped by the fire in their fire engine in the foothills of a mountain near the western city of Rethymno.
Local municipal official Sifis Vavourakis told ERT the fire front was more than 15 kilometres long and said the blaze was out of control. The fire department had earlier sent about 110 firefighters, 27 fire engines and four aircraft to the area.
Fires were also burning on Paros, Lesbos, Messinia and Laconia, with winds of up to 74 kilometres per hour. Local authorities said around 10 villages on Paros were evacuated as a precaution, although conditions there had improved on Wednesday.
Update
State TV ERT said the firefighters were trapped in their fire engine near Rethymno.
A local official told ERT the fire front was more than 15 kilometres long and out of control.
The fire department had dispatched about 110 firefighters, 27 fire engines and four aircraft.
Other fires were burning on Paros, Lesbos, Messinia and Laconia amid winds up to 74 kilometres per hour.
Local authorities said around 10 villages on Paros were evacuated as a precaution, though conditions had improved.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 14:35:37 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source did not give the firefighters’ names.
The precise circumstances of how the firefighters died are attributed to ERT.
Source
AFP news report published on .