"Thank you, you are leaving! There are more than 100 people trapped!
Yesterday, shortly before midnight, the authorities were notified to rush to the aid of his inflatable boat and to go from Skopelos to Agia Anna to assist in the release of hundreds of people while the fire was raging in Evia.
As you will see in the videos taken by the hotelier and sent to protothema.gr, the fiery flame has reached very close to the beach of Agia Anna and is scanning everything it encounters in its passage.
Strong winds make it difficult for private speedboats to reach the shore.
The people trapped on the spot, many are not in the water, shake their hands and shout to be located. "Dimitris shouted loudly, if they are heard", says Haris Karamesinis to the co-pilot of the boat, who is running.
The first attempts prove to be fruitless and so the captain of the speedboat gives the order to turn the whole bay.
The "hell of Dante" spreads around them. The horrible sight takes your breath away and tightens your stomach.
In the meantime, dozens of boats have arrived in the area.
In the second attempt to reach the shore, they find dozens of people in the sea. They pull them out of the water and put them on the boat. "I put twelve people on," says Haris Karamesinis.
Five people boarded a boat and seven others boarded the boat. Within an hour, all the trapped, safe and sound, board the vessels and are transported to Mantoudi.
In the meantime, since Friday morning, the fire is moving towards Strofilia, with the firefighters fighting so that the flames stay away from Mantoudi.
Inland, the fire has passed through Kokkinomilia, passed the "long stream", an area where they thought they could stop it, continued to Kryoneriti, to Milies and has surrounded Agdines.
The mayor of Istiaia, Edipsos, Giannis Kotzias, described the situation as "desperate", noting that "the speed of the fire is very high, but without strong winds blowing at the moment. "If they do not send us by air to stop the flames, the fire will end up in the sea."
According to the deputy mayor of Istiaia Edipsos, Angelos Misirlis, who spoke to APE BPE, "in the previous days and hours we were trying to form our defense with fire zones. Within a few minutes the fire destroyed everything…. ".
The huge fire in northern Evia remains uncontrollable, despite the efforts of firefighters with dozens of vehicles.
On the western front, apart from the evacuation of Kokkinomilia, the evacuation of the villages of Kryoneritis, Milies and Vasilika was ordered.
Fire in Evia: Night operation with boats to free residents in Agia Anna
Efforts are being made to stop a front moving towards Metochi and Mantoudi, east and southeast of Agia Anna.
Several houses have reportedly been damaged.
On the east side, where the fire brigade was conducting operations on the Skepasti-Agia Anna axis, the fire broke out in the village. Another moved to Strofilia and it was deemed necessary to evacuate it.
A battle was fought to open the road from Strofilia to Agia Anna, which had been closed. Passage was provided for the vehicles of the Fire Brigade, water tanks and construction machinery.
A fire zone was created around the village of Farakla.
Residents on the beach of Agia Anna moved away from the sea. It was decided to set up spaces in the town hall of Mantoudi to accommodate about 150 residents who were deemed necessary to leave their homes.
There are currently 240 firefighters on the scene with ten groups of pedestrians, 65 vehicles, two aircraft and a helicopter. Assistance is provided by the Coast Guard, the Greek Army with infantry units, volunteer firefighters and the local government with water tankers and construction machinery.
The operation for the release of dozens of citizens from beaches is in progress
Meanwhile, 631 people, who were trapped on beaches, have been evacuated to safe places since midnight yesterday. 440 citizens were evacuated from Agia Anna and Psaropouli alone, while 191 people were evacuated from other northern beaches in the area.
According to Coast Guard officials, most of the survivors are in good health and few have respiratory problems. Most of the released citizens are elderly, and there are several children among them.
Source: Protothema.gr