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Forest fires raged uncontrollably in several parts of Greece on Monday, destroying homes, disrupting major transportation networks and killing at least three people.
Greek authorities urged residents of a coastal region near Athens to abandon their homes on Monday by closing one of Greece's busiest highways, stopping trains and sending plumes of smoke on the capital. , a big fire had also erupted to the north and east of Athens. A local mayor said he saw at least 100 houses and 200 cars engulfed in the flames.
The Coast Guard reported carrying the bodies of three people: a man, a woman and a girl, which were pbaded by firefighters near one of the two main fires.
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 from all over Greece to deal with the fire of Kineta, a small town located about 54 km west of the city. 39, Athens on a road taken every day by tens of thousands of drivers to reach the Peloponnese peninsula. and soldiers are trying to extinguish a forest fire that is burning in the city of Rafina, near Athens. "src =" https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c610fc1a337ab6ef328b9a7cf49ae8a1e5068e4e/0_140_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=a20ef1eeeb6b4bde261b1f19e75b3f42 "/>
Firefighters and soldiers attempt to extinguish a burning forest fire in the city of Rafina, near Athens. Photography: Costas Baltas / Reuters
A senior fire chief went to state television to ask people to leave the area after some tried to stay in 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 ravaged the Peloponnese in 2007. Last November, more than 20 people were killed in sudden floods in the Mandra region near Kineta.
