A legal source has said that the crew of a yacht accused by authorities of starting a forest blaze on Hydra, an island in Greece, last week will likely deny any arson charges on Wednesday when they appear before a court.

Wildfires in Greece are not uncommon, but have become more destructive and frequent due to the hotter, dryer and windier weather that scientists attribute to climate change. In recent years, Greece has increased penalties for arson.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire early Saturday morning after it was believed that fireworks had started the fire. The fire burned nearly 300,000 sqm of the only pine forest on the island.

The 13 Greek crew of the yacht that was moored just 350 meters from the shoreline when the fire broke out were arrested and charged on Sunday in a marina near Athens with starting the fire.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they have all denied wrongdoing. They are expected to reiterate this stance in front of an investigating magistrate on Wednesday at the court in Piraeus. The judge will decide whether or not to release them, pending their trial.

Legal source: There was insufficient evidence linking them to the case. The captain of the vessel alerted authorities first about the fire. Other yachts were also present.

Court documents viewed by.

One of the witnesses said that a rubber boat was sailing towards the yacht, as the fire spread quickly. Later, they saw a fire-extinguisher at the yacht's rear. (Reporting Renee Maltezou, Additional reporting Yannis souliotis Editing Gareth Jones).