Sawt Falasteen - Croatian wildfire forces thousands to flee, injures dozens

Around 2,000 had been evacuated from nearby villages as the fire ripped through the surrounding hills, damaging homes and destroying cars in the early hours of Friday.

The country's prime minister, Andrej Plenkovic, who visited the scene mid-morning after conditions improved, said 14 people had been hospitalised, with 10 in intensive care.

"The government and all relevant services are coordinating to protect people and repair the consequences of the large fire in Omis," Plenkovic said on X.

The country's national newswire, HINA, said an additional 12 people had also been treated for injuries after strong winds quickly pushed the fire through forests, across roads and toward homes.

Nearly 300 firefighters were deployed overnight but were often outpaced by the blaze, according to the country's fire chief Slavko Tucakovic, who described it as "one of the worst in Croatia's history".

"It was frightening even to watch. Many houses, cafes, restaurants, cars, and boats that were on dry land were damaged," he told national radio.

- Tourists flee -

Firefighters battled through the night, with local media broadcasting images of crews facing walls of flames.

Hundreds of tourists were among those evacuated to a shelter set up by the Red Cross, Ana Stejskal, the organisation's director in the town of Omis, told national broadcaster HRT.

Several other shelters have been opened in nearby coastal towns of Split and Makarska, the Croatian Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement.

"People have a bed, a shower, a toilet, and food, but it's difficult to predict how long this situation will last," said Tomislav Gojo, director of the Red Cross in Split.

After four Canadair water bombers were deployed at dawn, authorities said the situation was calmer.

But as conditions eased in Omis, the firefighting aircraft had already been sent to another blaze on the Peljesac Peninsula, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) south, where homes were under threat.

Blazes were also burning in other parts of the Balkans as a heatwave brings soaring temperatures and worsens drought conditions.

Emergency crews in Montenegro have been battling fires along the coast for several days, while fires were reported near Albania's capital on Thursday.

Temperature records, already broken this summer, were again beaten earlier this week when nearby Split, about 30 kilometres north of Omis, hit 39.7C.

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST