Greek fires: Seven charged with arson

Greece charged seven people on Monday with starting the raging forest fires that thus far have claimed at least 63 lives. Firefighters backed by an international force battled the flames for a fifth day on Tuesday. Greek fires: Seven charged with arson As darkness fell on Monday, flames lit up the night sky as they tore through bone-dry forests and bushes in the Peloponnese, the mountainous peninsula to the south of Athens. Planes and helicopters made repeated swoops over the blazing trees to drop thousands of litres (gallons) of water but winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour kept the flames alight. Rescuers evacuated 27 villages in the Peloponnese as the fires threatened to engulf them, and parts of Evia island to the northeast of the capital were also ablaze. At least 63 people have died, including 59 in the Peloponnese alone, although no new deaths were discovered on Monday. With new fires still breaking out, Greek authorities increasingly believe they were started deliberately. Seven people have been charged with arson and a further 26 with lesser offences linked to a series of fires that have blighted Greece since early July. Anti-terrorist authorities said they were joining the investigation. The government has announced rewards of between EUR 100,000 and EUR 1mn euros for information leading to the arrest of the arsonists. "The death toll so far is 63 after two bodies were found in the village of Agnanta in the Peloponnese," health ministry official Panios Efstathiou said. In the tiny Peloponnese village of Chrisafa, residents who fought back fires that had threatened to gut their homes on Friday were in no doubt that criminal gangs were responsible. "They set fire to homes so efficiently and they did it while the wind was blowing up a storm," Costas Kolovas, a farmer, told AFP. The government released figures showing that 6,404 fires had occurred so far this year compared with 4,631 in the whole of 2006. Some commentators said one possible motive for arson could be that unscrupulous property developers were hoping to move in on the areas where forest has been destroyed. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has insisted however that the charred trees will be re-planted, partly to prevent illegal construction. The government said the general election would go ahead as planned on September 16. While Karamanlis is likely to win a second term in office, the conservative scrambled on Monday to limit the political damage from criticism that his government's response to the national disaster had been inadequate. "We are continuing a determined struggle against the fires," the prime minister said, adding that the victims of the disaster and not political point-scoring were his immediate priority. Three days after the fires started to ravage parts of southern Greece caught in a two-month heatwave, the international community swung into action. France dispatched four water-bombing planes and 62 firefighters and Italy sent two planes as part of what the European Union said was the largest ever offer of emergency assistance to a member state. Israel said 55 firefighters and three helicopters would head to the area and Greece's arch-rival Turkey contributed a fire-fighting plane. In forests ravaged by the fires, a thick carpet of ash lay among blackened pine trees stripped of their needles. Greece's historic treasures seemed safe, at least for now. In a precautionary measure on Monday, firefighters surrounded the site of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, which had narrowly escaped the flames on Sunday. Fires also broke out near Athens, forcing panicked residents to flee their homes, but the blaze on a mountain north of the capital was quickly brought under control. There was some good news for firefighters when weather forecasters said wind speeds would drop on Tuesday to about 50 kilometers per hour. Raging fires in southern Greece (FoNet)

Greek fires: Seven charged with arson

As darkness fell on Monday, flames lit up the night sky as they tore through bone-dry forests and bushes in the Peloponnese, the mountainous peninsula to the south of Athens.

Planes and helicopters made repeated swoops over the blazing trees to drop thousands of litres (gallons) of water but winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour kept the flames alight.

Rescuers evacuated 27 villages in the Peloponnese as the fires threatened to engulf them, and parts of Evia island to the northeast of the capital were also ablaze.

At least 63 people have died, including 59 in the Peloponnese alone, although no new deaths were discovered on Monday.

With new fires still breaking out, Greek authorities increasingly believe they were started deliberately.

Seven people have been charged with arson and a further 26 with lesser offences linked to a series of fires that have blighted Greece since early July.

Anti-terrorist authorities said they were joining the investigation.

The government has announced rewards of between EUR 100,000 and EUR 1mn euros for information leading to the arrest of the arsonists.

"The death toll so far is 63 after two bodies were found in the village of Agnanta in the Peloponnese," health ministry official Panios Efstathiou said.

In the tiny Peloponnese village of Chrisafa, residents who fought back fires that had threatened to gut their homes on Friday were in no doubt that criminal gangs were responsible.

"They set fire to homes so efficiently and they did it while the wind was blowing up a storm," Costas Kolovas, a farmer, told AFP.

The government released figures showing that 6,404 fires had occurred so far this year compared with 4,631 in the whole of 2006.

Some commentators said one possible motive for arson could be that unscrupulous property developers were hoping to move in on the areas where forest has been destroyed.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has insisted however that the charred trees will be re-planted, partly to prevent illegal construction.

The government said the general election would go ahead as planned on September 16.

While Karamanlis is likely to win a second term in office, the conservative scrambled on Monday to limit the political damage from criticism that his government's response to the national disaster had been inadequate.

"We are continuing a determined struggle against the fires," the prime minister said, adding that the victims of the disaster and not political point-scoring were his immediate priority.

Three days after the fires started to ravage parts of southern Greece caught in a two-month heatwave, the international community swung into action.

France dispatched four water-bombing planes and 62 firefighters and Italy sent two planes as part of what the European Union said was the largest ever offer of emergency assistance to a member state.

Israel said 55 firefighters and three helicopters would head to the area and Greece's arch-rival Turkey contributed a fire-fighting plane.

In forests ravaged by the fires, a thick carpet of ash lay among blackened pine trees stripped of their needles.

Greece's historic treasures seemed safe, at least for now.

In a precautionary measure on Monday, firefighters surrounded the site of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, which had narrowly escaped the flames on Sunday.

Fires also broke out near Athens, forcing panicked residents to flee their homes, but the blaze on a mountain north of the capital was quickly brought under control.

There was some good news for firefighters when weather forecasters said wind speeds would drop on Tuesday to about 50 kilometers per hour.