Jerusalem - Israel will send 25 firefighters with equipment to Greece to help battle fires raging in several areas in the country, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The firefighters will leave on the first available flight to Greece, a spokesman for the ministry said. He noted that the aid was being sent at the request of the Greek government.
With the death toll put at 53 so far, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has declared the fires to be a "national catastrophe" and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at official buildings.
On Monday, Greece was also expecting four fire-fighting planes from Serbia and two from Spain, while two helicopters each were to arrive from Germany and the Netherlands.
Romania, Norway and Slovenia were each sending one helicopter, while Switzerland and Iceland have also offered assistance.
