Greece wildfires: Bodies found in Alexandroupolis amid Europe heat wave

Greek firefighters found the bodies of 18 people in an area ravaged by a major wildfire burning for days, authorities said Tuesday.

Greek firefighters found the bodies of 18 people in an area ravaged by a major wildfire burning for days, authorities said Tuesday.

Hundreds of firefighters have struggled to control major wildfires burning out of control for days in northeastern Greece and on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, with strong winds fanning the flames and prompting evacuations of villages and a city hospital in Greece. Firefighters were also battling blazes in Italy.

A new heatwave hit southern Europe, meanwhile, with authorities urging residents to avoid the heat as France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.

Hot, dry and windy conditions have seen dozens of wildfires break out across Greece, with the most severe entering its fourth day and encroaching on the northeastern port city of Alexandroupolis. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.

On Tuesday, Greek police activated the country’s Disaster Victim Identification Team to identify the 18 bodies, which were found near a shack in the Avanta area in theAlexandroupolis region, Ioannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department, said in a televised statement.