Thousands evacuated: Greece battles wildfire outbreak

Emergency services are battling several forest fires in Greece where strong winds are helping flames spread.

The outbreak of wildfires, exacerbated by soaring temperatures and strong winds, is particularly bad around capital Athens.

The European Union have sent four 'water bombers' to aid emergency services, in addition to 65 vehicles and 220 firefighters from nearby countries.

Homes and vehicles have been consumed by fires in the town of Megara, north of Athens, while special attention was paid to a fire creeping towards oil refineries near Corinth.

Authorities believe some fires were purposefully ignited, police arrested a male on Wednesday on suspicion of lighting a fire in Kouvaras.

With current winds helping to fan the flames, the situation will not improve once they ease, with temperatures approaching the mid-40s expected across the weekend.

The Greek government are aiding those forced to evacuate areas by offering compensation for hotel stays.

Greece has seen regular outbreaks of wildfires in recent years. In 2021, a series of fires burned over 110,000 hectares of land within weeks in August.

In 2022, tourists were evacuated from the popular holiday island of Lesbos while elsewhere, more than 300 firefighters battled flames in the Dadia National Park to save trees in the north-eastern region of the country.