Thirteen people have been arrested following a forest fire on the Greek island of Hydra, which authorities believe was started by fireworks launched from a yacht. The fire, which started on Friday, devastated the island’s sole pine forest. Although now under control, the fire presented significant challenges for firefighters who had to access the area by sea and use helicopters to drop water due to the lack of roads leading to the beach.

Hydra, southwest of Athens in the Saronic Gulf, is popular among foreign visitors and those travelling on yachts.

The latest blaze was ”caused by fireworks launched from a boat and burned the only pine forest on the island in a place that is difficult to access and has no road”, Hydra’s firefighting team said on Facebook.

In a statement on Saturday, Greek authorities confirmed the arrest of 13 Greek citizens who are scheduled to appear before prosecutors on Sunday. An official said the people were arrested at an Athens area marina.

The incident has caused widespread outrage in Greece, which is already grappling with multiple wildfires amidst its first heatwave of the year. The country has been on high alert for wildfires due to dry conditions, strong winds, and high temperatures, which are expected to persist throughout the summer. Officials say 64 forest and brush fires have broken out in Greece over the past 24 hours. 

Hydra’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, expressed anger over the reckless actions that led to the fire. 

“We are indignant that some people so irresponsibly throw fireworks into a pine forest,” Hydra’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, told Greek broadcaster ERT.

In a related incident, a 55-year-old volunteer firefighter succumbed to injuries sustained while combating a fire in the Ilia region of the Peloponnese peninsula.

Scientists have warned that fossil fuel emissions caused by humans are worsening the length and intensity of heat waves around the world.

Additionally, arson remains a significant problem, with 79 people arrested for arson last August. To combat this, Greece increased penalties for both deliberate and negligent arson last year, introducing fines of up to 200,000 Euro and jail sentences of up to 20 years​

An American tourist has been found dead on a beach on a remote Greek island after going missing amid a spate of disappearances. According to the Guardian, the body of the man was found Sunday on a rocky, fairly remote beach on the island of Mathraki by another tourist. 

The man, whose identity has not yet been released, disappeared on the island after last being seen on June 11, when temperatures reached as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The man was staying with a Greek-American friend on the island before he vanished, according to investigators. He was last seen alive at a tavern on Tuesday with two female tourists who later left the island further details about the victim, including a name or hometown, were immediately available.

Mathraki has an estimated population of just 100 people and is located west of the island of Corfu, as per Sky News.

It is the latest in a string of recent cases in which tourists in the Greek islands have died or gone missing. Before this, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters from the spot where he was last observed last Sunday. Officials said observers reported the Dutch tourist having some difficulty hiking in the triple-digit heat that has enveloped the islands.

Dr Michael Mosley, a noted British TV anchor and author, was also found dead last Sunday on the island of Symi. His body was found in a rocky area, and investigators concluded that he died of natural causes the day he went missing.

One American and two other French tourists have also recently been reported missing. It is believed that they all set out on hikes in unusually high temperatures.

Notably, Greece is one of the most hard-hit countries by global warming in Europe, with rising temperatures fuelling deadly fires and erratic rains in recent years. Last Thursday, the famous Acropolis, and other nearby tourist attractions were closed as winds from North Africa pushed temperatures towards 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). Many primary schools and nurseries nationwide were also closed to protect students from the heat.

Scientists warn that summer temperatures there could rise by an average of 2 degrees by 2050. Athens mayor Haris Doukas has tried to create more shade by planting 2000 trees.