Athens, May 20, (dpa/GNA) – Eight fire-fighting planes and three helicopters were deployed on Thursday to battle a forest fire that broke out west of the Greek capital Athens and was spreading quickly.
The fire erupted outside the resort town of Loutraki, prompting evacuation orders to be issued for a number of nearby villages.
The fire’s front stretched across about 10 kilometres of rugged terrain and threatened several villages, a fire department spokesperson told ERT state television.
Smoke clouds covered Athens, about 60 kilometres away.
It is the first major fire in Greece this year. The south of the country has been dry, and in many places temperatures have risen to around 30 degrees Celsius.
GNA