Wildfires cause major explosions at ammunition dump in Greece

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Whipped by strong winds, wildfires triggered on Thursday a series of blasts at an ammunition dump in central Greece.

Local media said the blaze reached the facility, which is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) north of a major military air base in Nea Anchialos.

Although the blasts caused shattered windows on houses in a surrounding area, no injuries were reported as the site had been safely evacuated in advance.

Fires have raged across parts of Greece in the past days, triggering evacuation of tourists on the island of Rhodes.

Meanwhile, citing the country's Civil Protection, Greek news agency AMNA said there was "a very high risk of fire" in the regions of Attica, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, southern Aegean, northern Aegean, and Crete.

Greek authorities have advised people to be "exceptionally careful" and avoid any activity in the open that could accidentally cause a fire.

Earlier, European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said Greece is seeing its "most intense wildfire emissions" for July on record.​​​​​​​