Thirteen people were brought before a Greek public prosecutor on Sunday after being arrested in connection with a forest fire that was ignited on the island of Hydra by fireworks launched from the boat they were sailing on, according to the reports. 

Local media showed the 13 crew members and passengers arriving at the criminal court in Piraeus to answer charges of causing the blaze on Friday night.

Thirteen crew members and passengers arrived at the criminal court in Piraeus to answer to charges of causing the blaze on Friday night, according to local media. 

“The prosecutor has requested that the vessel in question be seized,” Greece's Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vasilis Kikilias, said, adding that “It remains to be seen from [their] testimonies what they did, and didn’t, do.”

The fire ravaged a significant portion of the Argo-Saronic isle's sole pine forest, which stands out amid the otherwise rocky landscape, before firefighters extinguished it on Saturday. “Six airplanes and two teams of firefighters, who had to be absent from dealing with other fires and services, were required to put it out,” said Kikilias, estimating that about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of forest had been lost to the blaze.

Media reports identified the passengers as Kazakh nationals. However, the nationality of the crew members on board the Persefoni I — a 53-meter (176-foot) luxury superyacht chartered for €299,000 (£253,000) per week during the high season— remains unclear.

Hot summer blaze

Greece has been experiencing unusually hot weather, with a heatwave occurring before June 15, the earliest on record, and temperatures surpassing 44°C (111°F) in some areas.

The country has become a tinderbox after an excessively mild winter. Recently, extreme weather conditions have sparked fires across the country. 

The civil protection service called for extreme vigilance on Friday, because the risk of fires, often fanned by gale-force winds, was “very high”, particularly in the Attica region, the Peloponnese peninsula, and central Greece.

Hydra's mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, stated that the municipality would seek compensation once the judicial process had concluded, if the accused were found guilty.

“Depending on the outcome, our town hall will seek compensation,” he said. “What was destroyed was an absolutely beautiful pine forest and on the night in question, because of the winds, fireworks were banned. To use them was utterly irresponsible.”

The accused were granted 48 hours on Sunday to prepare defense statements, with the public prosecutor requesting they reappear in court next week.

Penalties for arson and ecological destruction have been toughened in Greece. The amended criminal code stipulates prison terms of up to 20 years and fines of up to €200,000 for those found guilty of such crimes.

According to reports on Sunday, Greece has suffered 66 wildfires between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday local time, according to reports from the media.