Greece wildfires: Eighteen bodies found in Greek forest

Eighteen bodies have been found in a forested area of northern Greece hit by wildfires for the past four days, the Greek fire service says.

Initial reports suggest those who died may have been migrants. A coroner and investigation team are heading to the scene in the Dadia forest. The Evros region of north-eastern Greece, not far from the Turkish border, has been ravaged by fires.

Patients were moved from a hospital as the fires reached Alexandroupolis. The flames reached the grounds of the city’s university hospital and newborn babies and intensive care patients were among those evacuated to a ferry berthed at the city’s port.

An earlier death, also believed to have been a migrant, had been reported in villages close to Alexandroupolis and emergency services had sent mobile text messages to the surrounding areas asking people to leave. The Dadia national park is a large wooded area to the north of Alexandroupolis, and fires are thought to have spread rapidly there since Monday.

Fire service spokesman Yiannis Artopoios said the possibility that the 18 victims found on Tuesday had entered Greece illegally was being investigated, given that there had been no reports of missing residents.

The Evros region has become one of the most popular routes for Syrian and Asian migrants crossing the River Evros from Turkey into the European Union.

(BBC)