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Greece wildfires are indeed a tragedy â€“ ambassador

27 July 2018 13:11 (UTC +04:00)

The wildfires raging in Greece are indeed a tragedy, Greek Ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolaos Kanellos told APA on Friday.

“It is a big tragedy for us, but at same time, it is an experience for the future,” he said.

The diplomat noted that search is underway for those who went missing as a result of the tragedy and measures are being taken to identify the victims.

“We still do not know the exact number of those killed as a result of the wildfires. As of today, the death toll from the wildfires has reached 82. However, it is impossible to announce the exact number of victims because there are many missing people. Many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. The country suffered 14 wildfire outbreaks. Everything happened in a short time due to strong winds. More than a thousand houses burned down,” Kanellos said.

The Greek government has done everything possible to tackle the wildfires and protect the people, stressed the ambassador.

“We received support from Israel, Jordan and the EU countries. They provide us with the necessary resources to extinguish the fires and to manage the situation. We highly appreciate their support,” he said.

Kanellos went on to say: “Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also sent a letter of condolences to his Greek counterpart, as well as ordinary people of Azerbaijan and representatives of various organizations, telephoned me and the embassy to express their condolences and sympathy. This solidarity and support is very important for us. I think everyone should demonstrate solidarity during such events. Today Greece, tomorrow, another country may be a victim of such tragedy.”

The ambassador emphasized that Greece’s police forces and government officials are currently investigating the causes of the fires.

"Yesterday, the interior minister, the presidential spokesperson said what’s more important is to get results soon. I hope that in the future we will have more potential to preserve nature. I want to say to those who want to travel to Greece that they should not disrupt their plans because it is a natural phenomenon and despite what has happened Greece is a safe and stable country,” he said.