Greek island wildfire kills two people as helicopters called in to tackle Belgium forest blaze

Belgium battling biggest fire in more than a century as flames near German border and 600 people told to evacuate Two people have died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis as firefighting aircraft were called on to help tame the biggest blaze in Belgium in more than a century in the latest wave of European wildfires. The bodies of two people were recovered from the Peristeria beach area of Salamis on Sunday after two fires broke out on the island, a fire department spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. Hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate. In Belgium, a wildfire that broke out on Friday in the High Fens, a large nature reserve that is popular with hikers, had ravaged about 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of land and was encroaching on the border with Germany by early Sunday morning. About 600 people in the municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province, were told on Saturday to evacuate from their homes, and tourists were also advised to leave, as winds shifted and smoke spread.

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