(CN) — For a seventh day, wildfires raged out of control in Greece on Friday with a massive fire in the northeast of the country ranked as one of the largest ever recorded on European soil in years.
A vast blaze in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace became the largest fire in Europe in years with about 190,918 acres on fire by Friday afternoon, according to mapping by Copernicus, the EU's climate and satellite agency.
The fires in Greece's border regions with Turkey also sparked racial tensions with reports of Greeks making unfounded claims that migrants were responsible for starting fires. On Friday, human rights groups issued warnings about right-wing militia groups seeking to harm migrants.
An Albanian man and two Greeks were arrested after they were accused of rounding up 13 migrants and putting them in a cargo trailer. In a video posted on social media, the Albanian urged others to round up migrants.
Eastern Greece is a route used by many migrants seeking asylum and work in the European Union. On Tuesday, the bodies of 18 suspected migrants were found burned in the Dadia forest close to the Turkish border.
On Friday, more than 100 fires continued to blaze across Greece and authorities discovered another burned body in the Dadia forest, raising the death toll to 21.
The Mount Parnitha national park outside Athens, one of the last large forested areas near the capital, has been devastated by fires. On Friday afternoon, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis toured the destruction of homes and forest on Mount Parnitha.
Greek authorities have accused arsonists of attempting to set fires on Mount Parnitha with police saying on Thursday they had arrested 79 people in connection with arson.
“Arsonist scum are setting fires that threaten forests, property and, most of all, human lives,” Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said during a televised emergency briefing, as reported by the BBC. “You are committing a crime against the country.”
Hot temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have stoked the fires.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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