What is the Titanic goes down? Main thing, we have fun! This is what most probably the residents of Agia Marina on the island of Zante (Zakynthos) must have thought and kept dancing while the world around them was on fire.
In a video posted on social media late on Sunday, June 30, locals of a village can be seen dancing in circle and having undaunted fun at a fiesta, while the sky is turned red by the flames of a blaze on a mountain close by.
Απίστευτο. Καίγεται και η Ζάκυνθος.
Η φωτιά είναι εκτός ελέγχου αλλά το γλέντι καλά κρατεί. pic.twitter.com/D4LWtHOrmQ— Areti Athanasiou (@AretiAthanasiu) June 30, 2024
While the locals sing and dance, the bells of the village church started to toll warning the residents.
The video drew mixed comments on social media, with some users calling the images embarrassing.
“Dancing at the village fair while the forest is literally burning above your head is the epitome of the wretchedness of this people,” wrote one user.
“Zakynthos is also burning. The fire is out of control but the party is going well,” wrote another.
Speaking to Mega TV, the man in charge of Civil Protection at the municipality of Zakynthos, Dimitris Adamopoulos, said that the fire was about 1000 meters away from the village. He added that the fiesta, an annual event to honor the All Saints under the auspices of the local priest, ended as scheduled short before midnight.
The fire department in Zakynthos fought through the night to contain a fire that broke out in a forest area in the Agia Marina area.
It should be noted that early on Monday, the Department of Civil Protection of the Municipality of Zakynthos informed that the situation of the fire was better but remained critical.
The fire that broke out in the late afternoon and no homes were at risk at any point as the blaze was mostly in an inaccessible area.
35 firefighters, a team on foot, 10 engines and volunteers operated at the scene, while aerial means were expected to join the fight in the morning.
PS maybe the priest urged them to continue honoring the All Saints who would protect them from the fire.
