Sailing coaches rescue 130 people stranded amid wildfire in Greece

Sailing coaches at the Youth World Championships in Volos, Greece have been lauded for helping rescue 130 people stranded on a beach after fires blocked exits from the area to the mainland, according to a statement from World Sailing on Monday.

The blazes, fanned by rising temperatures and strong winds, have killed five people, destroyed homes, farms and factories and scorched swathes of forest land since July 17.

As events concluded on Sunday at the sailing championships, coaches spotted the trapped people and boarded motorised support boats to head toward a village nearby to evacuate the residents as well as to help native wildlife that were similarly stranded, the statement said.

As many as 60 boats were involved in the operation, saving more than 130 people who were ferried back to Volos.

“When we got the call for help from the coast guard, I knew we had the right people and equipment for the job,” Labis Tsoukalas, president of the Nautical Club of Volos and Argonauts, said in the statement.

“It’s a credit to (the coaches) that we were able carry out the rescue successfully.”