Greece fires: Strong winds threaten to spread deadly blaze in Athens after mass evacuations

• Greece’s worst wildfires of the year are over One woman died after an eruption at Lake Marathon on Sunday.

• International Aid Rescue teams from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia and Romania arrived at the scene to assist firefighters.

• Hundreds of residents Evacuated Dozens of homes and businesses were burned on the outskirts of Athens.

• Authorities issued evacuation warnings. tourist spot In the seaside town of Nea Makri.

• More than a dozen people were being treated by paramedics, most of them in Smoke inhalationFive firefighters suffered minor burns and breathing difficulties, according to the fire department.

• “We are now at a critical point,” Greek Minister Vassilis Kikilias said, “40 hours after an extremely dangerous wildfire broke out in Varnava.” There are no active frontsonly scattered hot spots.”

• The country remains High Fire Alarm After meteorologists worried Strong winds It may rise again when it gets to 60-70 kilometers (37-43 miles).

Firefighters continue to battle wildfires after heavy fires raged in towns near the Greek capital on Sunday.

A 60-year-old woman was found dead inside a factory in Patima Halandriu.

Scenes of unprecedented destruction unfolded in Athens, forcing thousands of people to flee the capital’s outskirts.

Greece has asked the EU for help to help its beleaguered firefighters, with EU spokesman Balas Oujvari saying “the EU’s civil protection mechanism has been activated at the request of the Greek authorities.”

Countries including Italy, France, the Czech Republic and Romania have confirmed they will send troops to help.

French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said Paris was sending 180 firefighters, 55 fire engines and one helicopter to help.

The Greek Civil Defence Ministry also confirmed that aid from Spain was being “finalised”, while Turkey announced it was sending two planes and a helicopter to help with firefighting efforts.

Nea Makri: Small fires have broken out again in the mountains above the seaside town. Rich Booth reports from Greece.

Helicopters are pumping water from the sea to fight raging fires that are endangering tourist sites.

The hotel was just metres from where the militants had taken refuge, as they tried to prevent them from evacuating to one side of the mountain pass.

The town is popular with Greek tourists looking to stay close to the beach, and from hotel balconies you can see flames rising from the already charred ground.

A steel tower collapsed in last night’s fire, and pine cones and fallen branches are scattered on nearby roads.

Sakis Morris described the desperate moments he watched as the flames burned out of control, destroying everything he owned.

Morris, who lives in the Athens suburb of Brilisia, said the fire reduced his home to ashes.

“There was this huge flame behind me and within a minute everything was melted,” he told Sky News, looking at the charred remains of the porch.

“Suddenly there was a big flame and we had to run. The wind speed was so high we couldn’t do anything.”

Residents who watched deadly wildfires in Greece rage towards their homes said they felt like they were “witnessing the end of the world just outside their doors”.

Roberta Kapsalis, a resident of the seaside town of Sinias in Marathon, described the terrifying moment the flames approached her community.

She said subway“This fire is a nightmare, a real-life Apocalypse Now. Seeing these huge flames approaching was surreal, like something out of a dark fantasy.”

“The sight of the flames inching closer and closer, consuming everything in their path, was like something out of a slow-motion horror movie.

“It vividly reminded me of the scene in The Lord of the Rings when Sauron’s ominous presence looms over Middle-earth, his fiery eye burning in the sky.”

Tourists have been evacuated on the outskirts of Athens as serious forest fires are burning out of control on the outskirts of the Greek capital.

Travel to Greece is not officially banned, but tourists with trips booked to the capital should contact their travel agency for instructions.

Flights are currently operating normally at Athens airport, with smoke visible from planes taking off, travel correspondent Simon Calder said. I am writing.

The standard approach for arriving aircraft is to circle south of Athens, fly over the Saronic Gulf and land from the southwest to the northeast.

Departing aircraft are taking off normally over Petalioi Bay. There is no direct threat to the airport as the area is partially built up and there is little vegetation in the open areas.

Three flights arrived at Eleftherios Venizelos airport from London Heathrow early on Tuesday morning, with a further easyJet flight from London Gatwick, a Ryanair flight from Luton and two Jet flights departing from Manchester.

Jet2 told passengers: “We are aware of wildfires burning in some parts of Athens and are closely monitoring the situation.”

“At this time, Athens airport is open and flights are expected to operate as scheduled. Please allow extra time for travel to the airport as road closures may occur.”

Greece’s worst wildfires this year are spreading rapidly, with satellite images showing large areas blanketed in thick smoke.

The fire broke out Sunday near Lake Marathon, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Athens.

The fire spread across Mount Pentele into the northern outskirts of Athens, causing widespread evacuations and at least one loss of life.

Firefighters discovered the woman’s burnt body in an industrial building on the outskirts of Brilisia just after midnight.

The woman, an employee of the company, is believed to have been trapped inside a building in an area where evacuation orders had been issued.

Turkey’s Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said two firefighting planes and a helicopter left for Greece on Tuesday morning.

Helicopters, planes and hundreds of firefighters and vehicles arrived from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Romania. “I wish our colleagues all the best as they work with the motto ‘Forests are our common global heritage,'” Yumakli wrote on social media platform X.