UAE stands in solidarity with Greece over wildfires

The UAE has expressed its solidarity with Greece over wildfires caused by a severe heatwave sweeping the country, which have resulted in the death of two people from a crash of a firefighting plane, and the evacuation of thousands of people.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stressed the UAE's support for the Hellenic Republic during these circumstances, and also expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Greek government and people, and to the families and relatives of the two victims of the aviation accident.

Lost everything

The wildfires on the Aegean island have been burning for a week, forcing 20,000 people, most of them tourists, to flee in the scorching heat over the weekend, some on foot, others by sea as the nighttime sky turned an apocalyptic orange.

The flames swallowed up trees, burned cars, damaged homes and hotels and left animals dead in the streets.

About 10% of the island's land area had burned, according to the Greek state broadcaster ERT, but the scale of the destruction has yet to be officially recorded.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who told parliament on Monday that the country was "at war," pledged to rebuild what was lost and compensate those who were hurt by the fires on Rhodes and elsewhere in the country where blazes have raged uncontrolled.

Summer wildfires are common in Greece but a record temperatures in recent weeks have worsened conditions. A heatwave is forecast to persist this week with temperatures set to exceed 44°Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in some areas.