A blaze that has ravaged Corfu and led thousands to evacuate has been blamed on arsonists by authorities.
Around 2,000 people on the Greek island, including holidaymakers, fled from the fire fled over the weekend while firefighters were still tackling the blaze on Monday as it swept across dry scrubland.
Chariton Koutscouris, North Corfu’s region’s deputy mayor of tourism and construction, said on Monday the blaze had been caused by a “group of people”, while Mayor of North Corfu, Giorgio Mahimaris, also pointed the finger at arsonists.
“They get pleasure out of this with the pain of the other people,” Mr Koutscouris told the BBC.
Authorities began evacuating people from Nissaki beach on Corfu on Sunday night due to the spreading fire, the Greek Coast Guard confirmed on Twitter.
A total of 59 people were rescued from the beach, and taken to the port of Corfu.
Corfu is the second Greek island to launch major evacuations in recent days.
Nearly 20,000 people, many of them tourists, have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes, as large fires sweep down from the mountains towards the south-western coastal resort towns.
It is estimated that there are up to 10,000 British holidaymakers on Rhodes, many of whom have had to flee and sleep on the floors of schools, airports and sports centres.
Airlines have begun to repatriate their customers back to the UK, with flights returning over the weekend.
The Foreign Office said it has sent five of its staff and four British Red Cross responders to Rhodes to help support British nationals.
A spokesman said: “They will be based at Rhodes International Airport to assist with travel documents and liaise with Greek authorities and travel operators on the ground.
“British nationals in Rhodes should contact their travel operator in the first instance for any queries regarding the rescheduling of flights and continue to check our updated gov.uk travel advice for information.”
Helped by firefighters and other emergency services from across the European Union, Greek authorities have also been evacuating people north of Athens as they struggle to contain the spread of one of the largest fires ever seen on the mainland.
Many wildfires around the world are started by people, whether on purpose or by accident, but rising temperatures and drier conditions exacerbated by climate change mean that, once ignited, fires can spread with lethal speed and ferocity.
