Europe wildfires: 2 dead, 500 evacuated as twin blazes hit Greek island near Athens

Two people have died in fires that broke out simultaneously Sunday on the island of Salamis near Athens, the local fire department said. (Photo: @CGTNOfficial) Two wildfires that broke out minutes apart on the Greek island of Salamina on Sunday killed two people and prompted the evacuation of about 500 people by sea, as crews raced to prevent the fires from joining.The emergency began at 2.40pm local time in Peristeria in the island's south, where strong winds pushed flames through a wooded residential area. About 20 minutes later, another fire was reported in the eastern town of Selinia. Officials had not established the cause of either blaze.About 37,000 people live on Salamina, west of Athens, and many of them are elderly. Authorities had placed the island at high wildfire risk on Sunday as winds approached gale force.“These conditions enabled the fire to quickly reach dangerous proportions and spread rapidly within seven minutes toward nearby residential areas,” fire brigadier general Vasileios Vathrakogiannis said, news agency AP reported.Fire crews found two bodies in Peristeria.The local mayor told Greek media that the dead were believed to be a couple. Greek health minister...