Greek firefighters struggle as brush fire rages in east of Athens

It has been hectic for firefighters in Greek who have continued to struggle to contain a brush fire which broke out to the east of Athens.

The raging fire has forced evacuation of a refugee camp near the port of Lavrio, the state broadcaster ERT reported on Thursday.

A large contingent of firefighters, backed up by aircraft, were struggling to bring the blaze under control amid bone-dry conditions.

The Greek civil defence has been warning of the danger of wildfires because of a long drought, hot weather and strong winds blowing across nearly all of Greece.

According to media reports, similar fire which erupted also east of Athens and then burned out of control in July 2018 killed 102 people and destroyed or badly damaged more than 1,000 homes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that at least four other wildfires broke out across the country, including one north of the capital.

Greece applied for assistance from other European countries.

Strong winds had fanned the forest fire in the Lakonia area, on the tip of the Peloponnese.

Attempts by a coastguard vessel and other boats to rescue scores of people trapped on a beach were hampered by rough seas.
Local media reported that two summer camps and a health centre in the seaside town of Neapoli had to be evacuated.

One of the seven firefighting planes battling the Lakonia fire had to make an emergency landing. Its two pilots were transferred to a local hospital, but were not seriously hurt, the media reported.