HELSINKI: Sweden says it has mobilized all available resources to put out dozens of wildfires raging across the country.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency said Wednesday that two Canadair CL-415 water-bombing planes on loan from Italy joined the firefighting efforts that included helicopters from Norway.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT says an estimated 40 wildfires are burning mostly in Sweden, mostly in the central and western parts of the country, but also in the Arctic north.
Thousands of people have been warned to remain inside with the windows shut to avoid breathing smoky air.
The Nordic region of Europe has experienced an intense heat wave in the past week. Temperatures reached over 32 degrees Celsius (90 F) throughout Finland, Norway and Sweden. The weather also has been dry.
Dozens of wildfires rage in Sweden amid Nordic heat wave
Dozens of wildfires rage in Sweden amid Nordic heat wave
- Thousands of people have been warned to remain inside with the windows shut to avoid breathing smoky air
Nearly 540 migrants rescued off Crete
- Under standard EU procedure, all will undergo health checks before having their asylum claims processed
ATHENS: Nearly 540 migrants crammed on a sailing boat were rescued on Friday south of the island of Crete, the Greek Coast
Guard said.
The 539 would-be asylum seekers were rescued by a patrol vessel of EU border agency Frontex near the small island of Gavdos in the Libyan Sea, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
So far, the Coast Guard has recorded nationals from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and the Palestinian territories aboard the boat, the spokeswoman said.
BACKGROUND
The 539 would-be asylum seekers will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno.
They will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, she added.
Under standard EU procedure, all will undergo health checks before having their asylum claims processed.
The port they had sailed out from was not immediately clear, the spokeswoman said.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the EU.
