Greek police have arrested 13 crew members of a superyacht on suspicion that fireworks launched from the vessel caused a fire that caused extensive damage to the only forest located on the island of Hydra.
Greek authorities have not disclosed the name of the yacht or the names of those detained, but according to media publications, we are talking about the yacht Persephoni, the rental of which in the summer season is about $270,000 per week. The media claim that the ship’s passengers, 17 citizens of Kazakhstan, have already left Greece.
Since there are no roads on the island, the fire was extinguished using helicopters. It was not easy for firefighters to bring the fire under control.
The incident sparked outrage in Greece, which faces increasingly severe fires during the summer months. “It’s just unbelievable. There are people so irresponsible as to launch fireworks into a pine forest,” said the mayor of Hydra, Georgios Koukoudakis.