Burst near the capital – Greece, emergency fire in Athens. Thousands of people flee, asked for help from the EU | world

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Athens – The sky of Athens is colorful with a troubling orange color while thousands of people were forced to flee : it's the balance of 24 hours of fire, the one who flames in two large forests that laps the capital, and that hundreds of firefighters can not tame. The authorities declare the state of emergency and ask the help of the European Union. A large fire spreads north-east of Athens, near Penteli, heading towards the town of Rafina.

Nearby Mati, the Coast Guard was forced to intervene to evacuate tourists trapped on the beach. A second fire devastates the pine forests in an area 50 kilometers west of Athens . The dense smoke, which reached the capital, forced the closure of the main highway connecting the Peloponnese. Hundreds of firefighters and dozens of vehicles have been deployed on the ground. Seven fire planes and four helicopters are trying to circumscribe the fires from above.

But that is not enough and Athens asks for help in Brussels. The governor of Attica who proclaimed the state of emergency in the east and west, makes available buses and water tanks to help control the flames. Thousands fled, dozens of cars were destroyed and houses were burned. "The fire is raging, we call the locals to go to Corinth to protect themselves and their children," is the dramatic appeal of the deputy mayor of Megara, which is located near Kineta , where the flames advance faster.

"People are crying, screaming on the phone, cars are parked and sirens sound everywhere, the air is hot, the flames are close," says a reporter near Rafina, not far from Penteli. , epicenter of the fire. Six people, according to firefighters, were hospitalized for burns . Three hospitals in the capital are in a state of alert and are preparing to receive other people involved in the fires.

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