EU firefighters to join effort as Greece battles blaze

Hundreds of European firefighters are due to arrive in Greece as the country battles a massive wildfire near Athens.

The fight to control the deadly blaze that has scorched the capital’s suburbs ran into a third day on Tuesday. Several European countries have told Greek authorities that they will send aircraft and firefighters to help bring Greece’s worst wildfire so far this year under control.

Strong winds and scorching temperatures have fed the flames, sending the fire racing across a parched landscape. One person is reported to have died and thousands have been forced to flee as the inferno has wreaked widespread destruction.

At least 66 people have been treated for injuries. Two firefighters have also been hurt.

“We are at a better level,” Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told state television ERT early on Tuesday. “But conditions again will not be easy. There will be winds from midday onwards … every hour that passes will be more difficult”, he said.

Greece’s National Observatory said temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected in Athens on Tuesday, with winds of up to 39 kilometres (24 miles) per hour.

Some 700 firefighters, backed by 200 fire engines and nine aircraft, were battling the fire, which broke out Sunday afternoon in the town of Varnavas, some 35 kilometres northeast of Athens, the fire department said.

The National Observatory, itself threatened by the wildfire, said on Monday that at least 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of land had been devastated.

Following a call for international help by the Greek government, additional firefighters, helicopters, fire engines and water tankers were expected to join the effort from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Turkey, authorities said.

A woman’s body was found on Tuesday inside a burned-out Athens factory in what is believed to be the first death from the wildfire.