Two Dead in Greece Wildfires; Belgian Wildfires Spread Toward Germany

[Anchor]

A wildfire on the Greek island of Salamis has left two people dead and forced hundreds to evacuate. Meanwhile, a massive wildfire in Belgium is spreading to record-breaking proportions.

Reporter Jeong Banseok has the details.

[Reporter]

Bright red flames soar from inside a house while thick smoke blankets the streets.

Driven by strong winds, a wildfire that broke out on the island of Salamis near Athens, Greece, has spread into residential areas.

[Maria Papaeleftheriou / Salamis Island Resident : Everything is completely ruined. The houses are burnt down. I heard two people died, and I pray it is not true.]

Fire authorities recovered the bodies of two people, believed to be a couple, at Peristeria Beach in the southern part of the island.

Fire trucks, helicopters, and aircraft were deployed to block the fire as it tore through pine forests. Hundreds of residents and tourists visiting the beach for the holiday evacuated by sea.

Authorities reported that 34 wildfires broke out across Greece in the past 24 hours alone, bringing the total death toll from wildfires this summer to eight.

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A wildfire that broke out in eastern Belgium on the 14th has been spreading for three days, heading toward the German border.

Having scorched an area equivalent to 4,200 football fields, it is the largest wildfire in Belgium on record, more than double the size of the 2011 fires.

Firefighters mobilized from across Belgium worked through the night alongside firefighting crews from Germany and Luxembourg, joined by farmers who rushed from across the border.

[Louis Clemens / German Farmer : I drove an hour and a half from Germany. I saw the news and realized a fire had broken out. I am going to fill my truck with water and head into the forest now.]

Authorities in Monschau, Germany, adjacent to Belgium, warned of severe smoke damage and advised residents near the border to evacuate.

[Video Editing: Kim Byung-jik]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.