President and minister survey fire damage on Zakynthos
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis on Thursday surveyed damage wreaked on Zakynthos forestland by a spate of fires earlier this month that have been attributed to arson during a helicopter ride over the Ionian island.
Kontonis said he and Pavlopoulos surveyed the extent of the “criminal activities of previous days.”
The government declared a state of emergency earlier this month after several fires broke out almost simultaneously on the island, stretching firefighting resources.
In related developments on Thursday, firefighters were battling blazes near the Cretan port of Iraklio and in the area of Vounoplagia near Ioannina, in northwestern Greece. The fires had been brought under partial control by late afternoon.
