Emergency management

A team of scientists from the University of Athens have recommended that Zakynthos's Navagio Beach be closed completely to the public after a rockfall earlier this month injured one tourist, just as authorities reopened a section of the iconic bathing spot.

A team of scientists from the University of Athens have recommended that Zakynthos's Navagio Beach be closed completely to the public after a rockfall earlier this month injured one tourist, just as authorities reopened a section of the iconic bathing spot.

A wildfire in a pine forest near the Aghia Paraskevi area on the Kassandra leg of northern Greece's Halkidiki peninsula was brought under control on Saturday, the fire service said.

The fire led to the deployment of 40 firemen, two water-dropping aircraft and 10 fire engines, authorities said.

40 people have passed out because of the heat in Sofia since the morning, said Emergency Aid. There are no reports of fatal cases so far. In the words of Emergency Response Speaker Katya Sungarska, high temperatures are not so bad as the sharp change of weather. Emergency teams urge everyone, especially people with chronic illnesses, not to go outdoors during the warmest hours of the day.

Attica, the northeastern Peloponnese, Evia, the Aegean islands and much of Crete remain at high risk of fire on Tuesday, the General Secretariat for Civil Protection has announced.

Issuing its third highest fire alert, the Interior Ministry's General Secretariat for Civil Protection instructed all state services, as well as municipal and regional authorities, to be on alert.

A road accident caused a large explosion and a fire near Bologna airport in northern Italy on Monday, police said, and local media reported some people had been injured.

Romania signed on Wednesday a loan agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) worth 50 million euros for strengthening disaster risk management project, the Finance Ministry (MFP) reports.

Police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of multiple acts of arson in the municipality of Marathonas, in east Attica, the fire service said in a press release.

The 35-year-old man is accused of setting five fires in land plots in the area of Rizari between July 26 and 31 and for disobedience towards authorities.

The relatives of a woman and a man killed in a wildfire near Athens last week have sued state authorities, the fire brigade and police over their deaths.

The large number of victims resulting from the deadly blaze that devastated Attica's eastern coast this week "may indicate gaps prevention and preparedness," European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides told Kathimerini in an interview published on Sunday.