UEMS / Ammunition Depot event in Thessaly, Nea Anchialos area, Greece on Thu 27th July 2023

Greece: Evacuations ordered after blast in ammo warehouse

Authorities have ordered residents in several villages in central Greece to evacuate after an explosion in an ammunition warehouse, officials said.

The explosions took place at an ammunition dump in the region of Volos. A blaze in the region reached the warehouse, triggering a series of explosions that shattered windows in surrounding areas.

"Part of the ammunition warehouse at the air force barracks in Nea Anchialos is on fire and an explosion has taken place," Yannis Artopios, a spokesman for the fire department told news agency AFP.He said seven planes and three helicopters were already on site to put out the fires in the region. 

The air base is some 20 kilometers or 12 miles from the city of Volos, where the blasts were heard.

The air force said the site, about 6 kilometers north of the airbase, had been evacuated well in advance and no injuries were reported. 

No one was hurt in nearby villages either, authorities said. Several residents had been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

State ERT television showed some residents and visitors heading for a small local port so they could be evacuated by sea, while others were preparing to leave by car.

Fires have raged across parts of Greece during three successive Mediterranean heat waves in the past two weeks, leaving five people dead.

The wildfires on the popular island of Rhodes, now burning for a tenth successive day, prompted Greece's largest wildfire-evacuation in history.

While firefighters have raced to douse the flames, sweltering temperatures and hot conditions have made things challenging.

Flare-ups were also reported on Evia, Greece's second biggest island.