Alwaght- At Least 60 people have died and scores more injured in the worst wildfires to have hit Greece in over a decade, officials said, with authorities warning of further casualties.
Two major forest fires are burning out of control on either side of Greece's capital, razing houses and prompting residents to flee as the sky over Athens turned a hazy orange from the smoke.
Residents told of horrifying scenes as flames engulfed a seaside village. Some escaped only by running into the sea, chased by the advancing fire.
The fires, close to the capital Athens, are the deadliest to have hit the country since those which burned through the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens.
"Attica is facing a very difficult night. The combination of intense winds and multiple parallel fronts has created an unprecedented extent and difficulty for firefighters," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said in a briefing late Monday.
The Attica region, which has a population of around 3.5 million people, is home to the Greek capital Athens, the port of Piraeus and a number of suburban towns.
The fires forced Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras to fly back early from a state visit to Bosnia. He has urged citizens to forget their property and focus on survival.
"Everyone should keep their temper and take care to protect the most precious good that is human life," he said.
So far Spain, Turkey and Cyprus have offered assistance, and Greece has called on other fellow EU members to help battle the blaze.
