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Dozens of dead from fires in Algeria: it is a drama for humanity, for nature

2021-08-11T05:57:43.674Z


42 firefighters were killed in Algeria, including soldiers. The emergency services are making slow progress, the interior minister speaks of arson.


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Fire in the Kabylia region, Algeria

Photo: RYAD KRAMDI / AFP

At least 42 people were killed in rescue operations in Algeria.

There are 25 soldiers among the dead, Prime Minister Ayman Ben Abdel Rahman said on television on Tuesday evening.

According to a tweet from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, they had previously managed to rescue more than 100 people from the flames.

The fires raged in the regions of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia east of the capital Algiers.

At least eleven other helpers were injured, some seriously, during their work.

The hashtag #PrayforAlgeria showed photos and cell phone recordings that allegedly came from the affected areas.

Various Berber tribes live in the mountainous region of Kabylia, around 100 kilometers east of the capital Algiers.

Many villages are difficult to reach.

There is a lack of water and there are no fire-fighting planes available in the region.

Some villagers fled the flames, others tried to fight the fires with the simplest means.

The scenery resembles "the end of the world," said a 92-year-old from the village of Ait Saada.

"We were afraid the entire hill had turned into a huge sea of ​​flames," Fatima Aoudia told the Associated Press.

"It's a drama for humanity, for nature."

Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud had visited the region for an initial assessment of the situation and brought arson into play as the cause of the fire.

"30 fires at the same time in the same region cannot be a coincidence," said Beldjoud on state television.

Forest fires in the Peloponnese continue to rage

The forest fires got out of control again on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese.

On Tuesday evening, the fire front in the municipality of Gortynia in the west was around ten kilometers long, the Greek media reported.

So far, 19 villages have been evacuated by emergency SMS, and houses were burned in the town of Pirris.

The emergency services were constantly reinforced during the night to form a barrier to the north so that the flames could not work their way further towards the prefecture of Ilia, where ancient Olympia is located.

Wind made the extinguishing work more difficult.

On Tuesday evening, the Greek fire brigade reported 54 new forest fires within the previous 24 hours.

The situation also remained tense on the second largest island of Evia.

In many cases, the firefighters are international helpers.

For Wednesday, the weather service predicts several hours of rain in some places.

Also German helpers on the way

Fire fighters from Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia are on their way to Greece, as the German Fire Brigade Association announced.

They are supposed to help there as part of the European Union's civil protection procedure.

According to the association, there are 168 emergency services from Hesse and 56 from North Rhine-Westphalia.

Heat wave increases fire risk in southern Italy

Many parts of Italy expect increased risk of forest fires again on Wednesday.

A heat wave with temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius is expected, especially in the south and on the large holiday islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Coupled with the drought and winds, this should increase the risk of fire.

The civil protection authority of Sicily classified almost the entire island in the highest fire risk level for Wednesday.

Heat warnings also apply to the provinces around the cities of Palermo and Catania.

Regional President Nello Musumeci announced on Tuesday evening that he would ask the government in Rome to declare a national emergency on Wednesday.

Sicily had already declared a state of crisis and was able to help damaged farmers more quickly, for example.

Wind hampers fire fighting in Turkey

In the south-west of Turkey, strong winds, drought and heat of more than 40 degrees make it difficult to extinguish the fire. Sparks continue to jump over to other areas. The forested and mountainous area in Mugla Province is difficult for emergency services to reach from land. Overall, however, the situation in Turkey has calmed down. Most of the fires have now been contained.

Meanwhile, five Turkish TV channels face fines for reporting the fires.

The broadcasting authority (RTÜK) will vote on Wednesday on a fine for critical contributions to the fire, wrote Ilhan Tasci, who represents the opposition party CHP in the authority, on Twitter.

The Islamic-conservative ruling party AKP and its ultra-nationalist partner MHP have a majority in the body.

RTÜK had previously warned broadcasters about reports that could spread fear in connection with the fires.

ala / dpa / AP

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2021-08-11

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