Fires spread as heatwave continues

Croatian fire-fighters adopt an airbourne approach

As forest blazes started by recent high temperatures rage through southern and eastern Europe, Croatian firefighters have been forced to leave huge areas to burn because of landmines.

Blazes in the area near the Adriatic town of Sibenik have destroyed about 100 hectares (250 acres) of forest. Three other fires are reported to be raging through southern Croatia.

Aircraft dropped water on fields that have not yet been cleared of landmines since war broke out in the Balkans in 1991.

Forest and bush fires are also spreading through Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania. Fire officials say some of these appear to have been started deliberately.

Forests have been decimated by fires

An area stretching from Romania in the north to eastern Mediterranean countries like Lebanon has been ravaged by temperatures in the mid 40s Celsius.

So far the heat-related death toll for the region is believed to be about 23. But in Croatia alone officials fear the heat may be responsible for many other deaths during the week.

Death toll rises

Romania has so far fared the worst, with nine people confirmed dead. Most were farmers working in the fields in temperatures as high as 43 C (109.4 F).

Bulgaria saw eight heat-related deaths. Four people have died in Greece, while one elderly man died in Macedonia and another in Bosnia.

K-For troops: New duties as firemen

In Kosovo, K-For peacekeeping troops have been issued with special instructions to prevent heat exhaustion while on patrol.

Soldiers also joined local firefighters in battling a series of forest fires, although their efforts were hampered by a lack of water and power.

Meanwhile in Pristina, people defied warnings by city authorities to stay indoors between 0800 in the morning and 1700 in the afternoon to escape the effects of the heat.

Power shut-down

In Romania, the country's only nuclear plant was halted temporarily after a safety device was triggered by the heat.

Officials said the shut-down was precautionary and the safety of the reactor was unaffected.

Greece struggled with power shortages as sales of air-conditioning units boomed.

Health officials advise limited time in the sun

Levels of air-pollution reached dangerous levels in Athens, exacerbated by Thursday's factory fire.

The misery of thousands of sweltering Athenians was also compounded by a strike by rubbish collectors protesting over staff cutbacks.

In Bulgaria, roads were closed and heavy lorries prohibited from travelling between noon and 1900 to prevent damage to melting tarmac.

Rail transport was also disrupted as rails buckled under the heat of the sun.

No respite

Meteorologists say the heat wave is due to hot air masses moving north from the Sahara desert.

Average daytime temperatures for much of the Balkans normally range from about 30 C (86 F) to 35 C (95 F).

People cool off any way they can

Experts are warning that the hot and dry weather will seriously affect the regional economy, predicting some crop yields could be as much as 70% lower than last year.

"It looks like the situation of Greece, south and east Turkey and also for Cyprus will see high temperatures continuing until the end of the next week," said Greek meteorologist Theodoros Kolidas.