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LAST UPDATE | 25 Jul 2023
TWO PILOTS DIED when their water-bombing plane crashed while battling a blaze on the Greek island of Evia today, as wildfires flared across the Mediterranean.
Greece’s fire department said the Canadair aircraft crashed into a ravine close to where the fire started on Sunday. Footage on state TV ERT showed the plane clipping a tree before falling nose-first and exploding.
The pilots were members of the Greek air force, and the defence ministry said it had declared a three-day mourning period.
The plane was among at least three other aircraft and around a hundred firefighters confronting the flames on Evia.
Later this evening, a man was found dead on the island, a police spokesperson told AFP,
“The man was found charred and a police unit is heading there to check if this was a shepherd that was missing since Sunday,” Konstantia Dimoglidou, Greek police spokeswoman told AFP.
Both tragedies took place as Greece battled wildfires on three major fronts, including the tourist islands of Rhodes and Corfu, with many of the country’s regions listed at extreme risk of dangerous forest fires exacerbated by strong winds.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said today the heatwaves that have hit parts of Europe and North America this month would have been almost impossible without human-caused climate change.
“We have another difficult summer ahead of us,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his cabinet.
Three days before the plane crash, Mitsotakis acknowledged that the aged Canadair CL-215 water bombers used by Greece – a model first produced in the mid-1960s – were “old, difficult (to fly) and prone to malfunction.”
He had vowed to bring in new models available in 2026.
WWF Greece on Tuesday said 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) of forest and other land had been scorched by fire in the country just in the past week.
In the capital Athens the heat is expected to reach 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit), and hit up to 44C in central Greece, according to the national weather forecaster EMY.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s civil protection minister, said crews had battled over 500 fires around the country for 12 straight days.
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Know two with long covid. No joke, totally knocked both. Both lads one mid 30s other mid 50s.
Hope this young lady returns to 100%
@Tom Ripley: the ‘open everything’ crowd wont like to read this.
Sounds very like those who suffer with autoimmune diseases like lupus, MS, Crohn’s disease, UC, AIH, Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, PSC, PBC and many others. The fatigue, the flares, lack of empathy from employers etc.
@Serge the llama: I have Psoriatic arthritis but luckily my medication I has worked wonders for me and I’m able to do most of the things I want to do. But you’re right, before I was diagnosed and could barely walk down the stairs, the lack of understanding was staggering.
@Serge the llama: many of those illnesses are starting to be linked to underlying #MCAS. Could count on 1 hand the Drs with MCAS or MC awareness.
Good article, well said Eilish, I hope you make a full recovery very soon and that your comments are heeded.
Most of us can appreciate nurses and the work they do. That said, is it reasonable to elevate them alone when about 3 times as many of their colleagues have the same issues and remain silent, I’m not questioning that some are seriously ill, so are many other people. I don’t believe anyone should be penalised for being ill and that there should maybe arrangements made for all healthcare workers who became ill as a nature of their work, not just nurses alone.
Maybe everyone could clap for them again?
@cryptodon: that was the UK not Ireland.
@Eamonn Martin: obvious Trolling
There is no question about it anyone who is in this situation should not have to worry about getting paid.they should be paid in full and not have sick pay reduced or taken into account later when they return to work
I’m a firefighter and have been out of work with long covid since December and can relate to all the issues in the article. Unfortunately for everyone in this 2 tier society if you don’t have private health insurance you can’t access post covid clinics. The HSE needs to step up now and help public patients get back to work. The whole scenario is extremely frustrating.
@Eamonn Martin: Hope you never get it so.
@Eamonn Martin: are u ready for the backlash sir :), enjoy
COVID-19 Hyperinflammation & Post-Covid-19 Illness may be linked to newly recognised Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.
See a paper here
@Thomas O’ Donnell: So do I Tommy. If I do, I hope I don’t die or suffer long effects. Doesn’t mean the world should be on hold because of that tiny risk though.
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have your say