Greece in flames, a plane crashes in action against the fires: two victims. Rhodes has been burning for eight days, tourists on the run

Greece continues to burn.

In Rhodes, hundreds of firefighters supported by two helicopters and two planes are trying to stop the fire for the eighth consecutive day. Tens of thousands of people have already fled the island and many tourists have returned home on evacuation flights.

In the north of Corfu, also a tourist island where about 2,500 people had to be evacuated during the night between Sunday and Monday, more than sixty firefighters are battling the flames, with a helicopter and two water bombers.

Near the town of Karystos in the south of Evia island, 93 firefighters and two water bombers are at work, according to authorities. A fourth fire front worries firefighters near Aigio , a town in western Peloponnese.

In the afternoon meanwhile another tragedy: a Canadair with two pilots on board crashed while fighting a forest fire in the southern Greek island of Evia, near Platanisto. The accident took place on the heights of Karystos, where a fire broke out on Sunday.

The two pilots, both killed on impact, belonged to the Greek Air Force, according to information from the Ministry of Defence. The commander Christos Moulas was 34 years old, the co-pilot, Pericles Stefanidis, 27 years old.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has declared three days of mourning in the Armed Forces . "The loss of the lives of officers in an attempt to protect the lives and property of citizens, as well as the environment of our country, saddens us deeply," said the minister.

(Unioneonline/D)