Guwahati News Desk: Thousands of residents have fled to safety from the wildfire that burned for a fourth day north of Athens on early Friday.
It was a terrifying overnight battle to stop the flames from reaching populated areas, electricity installations and historic sites.
As per the sources, the blaze tore through forest areas 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of the capital, destroying more homes. Ground crews of several hundred firefighters dug fire breaks and hosed the flames.
The traffic was halted on the country’s main highway connecting Athens to northern Greece, as crews tried to use the road as a barrier to stop the flames advancing before water-dropping planes could resume at first light. But sparks and burning pine cones carried the fire across the highway at several points.
The health officials have informed that several firefighters and volunteers were hospitalized with burns.
The Fire Service Brig. Gen. Aristotelis Papadopoulos said, “We are going through the 10th day of a major heat wave affecting our entire country, the worst heat wave in terms of intensity and duration of the last 30 years.”
Nearly 60 villages and settlements were evacuated between Thursday and early Friday, across southern Greece.
Moreover, the weather conditions are expected to worsen further.
Fires were seen raging on the island of Evia, northeast of Athens, and at multiple locations in the southern Peloponnese region where a blaze was stopped before reaching monuments at Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, firefighters from France, Switzerland, Sweden, Cyprus and Romania are assisting Greece in this terrifying battle against fire.