Zakynthos

Some 50,000 holidaymakers stranded in Greece due to the collapse of the Thomas Cook tour operator are to be repatriated in the coming days, Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis told Skai television on Monday. 

The first 22,000 are to be repatriated over the next three days, the minister said, adding that aircraft were to arrive on Monday at Zakynthos, Kos and Corfu. 

Some 50,000 holidaymakers stranded in Greece due to the collapse of the Thomas Cook travel agency are to be repatriated in the coming days, Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis told Skai television on Monday. 

The first 22,000 are to be repatriated over the next three days, the minister said, adding that aircraft were to arrive on Monday at Zakynthos, Kos and Corfu. 

Water-dumping aircraft rejoined the battle against a wildfire on the Ionian island of Zakynthos at first light on Monday morning after ground crews fought to contain the blaze overnight amid strong winds.

A wildfire in progress on the island of Zakynthos has led authorities to evacuate some exposed houses on the village of Keri, in the southern part of the island, as well as 120 tourists staying at a hotel there.

The tourists were taken by bus to another hotel, in the nearby resort of Kalamaki.

Greece's coast guard says it has seized a sailing boat and arrested two people on suspicion of trying to smuggle 37 migrants to Italy.

Firefighters on Friday battled several large blazes in different parts of the country as strong winds and dry conditions hampered their efforts to bring them under control.
Dozens of firefighters were sent to a fire that broke out at around 2 a.m. on Friday near the town of Karystos, in southern Evia, and were aided by water-dropping aircraft at the break of dawn.

The circulation of all terrain vehicles (ATV) or quad bikes, which have become increasingly popular in summer holiday destinations but are often involved in accidents, is to henceforth be monitored by local authorities, according to a Transport Ministry decision that was made public on Tuesday.

Two people were arrested on the Ionian island of Zakynthos on Monday in connection with balloons containing nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas, and adultarated drinks, inside two one-day cruise ships docked at the port.

A moderate undersea quake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale struck off the Ionian island of Zakynthos at 5.22 a.m. on Saturday but no major damage or injuries were reported.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the temblor's epicenter was located under the seabed some 67 kilometers southwest of the island at a depth of 2 kilometers. 

Two loggerhead sea turtles, an endangered species also known as Caretta Caretta, have been injured so far this summer after being hit by boats in Laganas Bay on the southern coast of the Ionian island of Zakynthos, activists say.