PM visits fire-hit island of Thasos

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to visit the northern Aegean island of Thasos on Monday as helicopters resumed their efforts to put out a large fire that burned large tracts of lands and several homes over the weekend.

Schools on the island remained closed as a precaution but also due to the toxic fumes released by the fire.

Authorities declared a state of emergency on Sunday when a fireman was injured and two villages and monasteries evacuated on Sunday as firefighters grappled with the blaze.

Sparked by lightning on Saturday, the blaze was buffeted by strong winds and spread to create four fronts, making the firefighters' job more difficult.

Firefighters told Kathimerini that the fire was as disastrous as one that ravaged the island in 1985.