Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday paid tribute to two firefighters killed while battling a wildfire on the southern island of Crete, pledging continued efforts to strengthen the country’s defenses against increasingly destructive conflagrations.
“I express our deepest sorrow,” Mitsotakis said at the start of a Cabinet meeting. “The state honors them, stands by their families and strengthens its actions so that Greece becomes ever better protected against the climate crisis.”
The two firefighters died Wednesday while battling a fast-moving wildfire near Krya Vrysi in the Rethymno region.
Their funerals were being held Thursday as firefighters continued working to contain wildfires stoked by strong winds on the southern Aegean island.
Mitsotakis warned that Greece’s wildfire season was far from over, saying the country still faced “difficult days ahead” and urging the public to exercise “the utmost caution.”
