Seven dead in Greece as wildfires rage | News from the world

At least seven people were killed while trying to flee the wildfires raging out of control near the Greek capital Athens

One witness saw at least four deaths on a road in the Mati community in about 29km (18 miles) east of Athens on Monday. The popular tourist destination was devastated by the rapid blaze that began around 5 pm local time.

One victim was in a car, another under a vehicle, said the witness. Two people died on a motorcycle in what appeared to be a queue of traffic to the refuge of a nearby beach.

There have been several reports of missing persons, including four tourists from Denmark. At least 56 people were injured, health officials said.

The Ministry of Health confirmed three more deaths, while government officials expected a significant increase in the number of casualties. Greek authorities urged residents of a coastal region near Athens to abandon their homes when fires spread on Monday by closing one of Greece's busiest highways, stopping trains and buses. sending plumes of smoke to the capital. also exploded north and east of Athens. A local mayor said he saw at least 100 houses and 200 cars engulfed in the flames.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras interrupted an official visit to Bosnia and declared that the government would do "all that is humanly possible" to control the fires.

Authorities deployed firefighters and equipment to deal with the fire in Kineta, a small seaside resort about 54 km (35 miles) west of Athens on a road used by tens of thousands of drivers a day to reach the Peloponnese peninsula.

A senior fire chief went to state television to ask people to leave the area after some tried to stay on their properties.

"People should leave, close their homes and leave, people can not tolerate so much smoke for so many hours," Achilles Tzouvaras said. "It's an extreme situation."

Strong winds fanned walls of gigantic flames spreading for four miles (6 km) near Kineta, local officials said. Dozens of homes were reported to have been damaged or destroyed by the fire. Some households used watering pipes to try to extinguish fires, while the police helped evacuate some areas.

The main highway connecting Athens to Corinth, one of the two roads to the Peloponnese peninsula, was closed and canceled rail services

raging around the Gulf of Saronicos, the only one [1]. The fire ravaged stretches of pine forests and remained visible for miles. A cloud of black and orange smoke floated on the Acropolis Hill and the Parthenon Temple in Athens on Monday afternoon

It was believed that hell had begun in a ravine in the mountains overlooking Kineta, a seaside resort popular among the Athenians. 19659002] In East Athens, live images show thick swirls of smoke hanging down over Rafina, which has a population of at least 20 000 inhabitants and dense vegetation.

"I have personally seen at least 100 houses in flames," said Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the Rafina-Pikermi region. "I saw it with my eyes, it's a real total disaster."

Forest fires are common in Greece in summer, but a dry winter has created tinder conditions.

Dozens of people died when fires broke out over several days across the Peloponnese in 2007. Last November, more than 20 people were killed in sudden floods in the Mandra region near Kineta.