Yacht crew and passengers arrested after forest fire starts in Greece

Thirteen crew and guests on a luxury yacht in Greece have been arrested on suspicion of igniting a wildfire on the island of Hydra with fireworks launched from the boat.

The blaze, which destroyed part of the island's only pine forest in the isolated area of Bisti, was brought under control by firefighters on Saturday.

The remote landscape forced firefighters to work from the air and sea.

Hydra lies south-west of Athens in the Saronic Gulf and is a popular location for yachting.

While the name of the yacht and the people involved have not been made public by the authorities in Greece, Mayor of Hydra George Koukoudakis told state TV that he was “outraged”.

“If it's true, it is something that really saddens me.”

Greece recently toughened up its penalties for arson, with those found guilty facing up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to €200,000 ($213,650).

More heatwaves

Experts said conditions are building towards another particularly difficult summer for Greece, with a combination of strong winds and high temperatures increasing the risk of wildfires.

The country recorded its first heatwave of the year last week, with temperatures of more than 44°C in some areas.

Greek firefighters spent the weekend battling wildfires that had been fanned by three days of fierce winds.

A 55-year-old male volunteer firefighter who was injured in a blaze on the Peloponnese peninsula died in hospital on Friday.

Last year, a two-week heatwave led to widespread fires in which 20 people died and 1.3 per cent of Greece's land mass was burnt.

Climate change scientists have been warning for years that fossil fuel emissions are making heatwaves longer and hotter around the world.

This year is on track to be another year of record-breaking highs, with death tolls from temperatures and extreme weather related events on the rise in India, the US, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.