At least 50 people are feared dead in wildfires burning in the Attica region around Athens, in Greece’s worst fire crisis in more than a decade, the BBC reports.

According to the Red Cross, 26 bodies were found in the yard of a villa in the seaside village of Mati, which is at the centre of the disaster.

Before news of the grim discovery, the official death toll stood at 24.

As part of a huge rescue effort, emergency workers used boats and helicopters to evacuate a beach.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blazes and the authorities are seeking international assistance. </s> Wildfires in Greece have killed at least 60 people and left more than 150 injured, with officials declaring a state of emergency.

The bodies of 26 of the dead - many of them huddled together - were discovered in the coastal village of Mati this morning.

Authorities fear they became "trapped in the flames" as they tried to escape to the sea.

The twin forest fires near Athens have sent hundreds of people, including tourists, racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Image: Hundreds of homes are being threatened by the fires

Image: People watch the fires burn from a hilltop above Mati

More than 700 people have been rescued by the coastguard.

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Greece's interior minister, Panos Skourletis, has described the fires as a "national tragedy" and a "biblical disaster with human losses".

Image: One of two wildfires raging near Athens started in seaside town Kineta

Strong winds have fanned the flames, which have spread rapidly into residential areas - preventing people who are in their homes or cars from escaping.

Kostas Laganos, who lives in Mati, said scenes in the town reminded him of the volcanic eruption of Pompeii.

Image: A woman tries to find her dog following the wildfire in Mati

Image: Cars have been destroyed in the village where 26 bodies were found

He told Sky News: "Thankfully the sea was there and we went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water.

"It burned our backs so we dove into the water.

"It reminded me of the eruption at Pompeii - exactly that - and I said 'my God, we must run to save ourselves and nothing else'. It was terrible."

Here is @CopernicusEU Sentinel-2 satellite image of the deadly fires near Athens that killed dozens. Our thoughts are with victims and families in #Greece 🇬🇷. pic.twitter.com/lLP9emCqJw — WMO | OMM (@WMO) July 24, 2018

Image: The wildfires near Athens have claimed at least 49 lives

Some 156 adults and 16 children have been taken to hospital with injuries, including 11 adults who are in a serious condition.

More than 600 firefighters are involved in fighting the blazes and Greece has asked for help from European Union countries.

Wildfire destruction seen from the sky

The Spanish government has sent two water-dropping planes, while a military plane carrying 60 firefighters is arriving from Cyprus.

Greece's army has also been brought in to help.

Image: Residents of Mati are evacuated by sea

Flights have been diverted because of low visibility and the thick smoke from the fires has led to main motorways being shut down.

One fire is burning northeast of Athens in the Penteli area. The other blaze is raging through pine forests 31 miles (50km) west of Athens after starting in the seaside town of Kineta.

Image: Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blazes

Image: Firefighters, soldiers and local residents carry a hose in Rafina

Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the Rafina-Pikermi area, near Penteli, said he saw "at least 100 homes in flames", adding: "I saw it with my eyes - it is a real total catastrophe."

The state of emergency has been declared by regional authorities.

"This is an extreme situation," said senior firefighter Achilleas Tzouvaras.

Image: Thick smoke can be seen as people try to flee Kineta

Image: Smoke blankets a highway as a fire burns in Kineta

"People should leave - close up their homes and just leave.

"People cannot tolerate so much smoke for so many hours."

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said: "We are doing everything humanly possible to try and tackle these fires."

Having cut short a visit to Bosnia, he added: "What concerns us is that there are fires occurring simultaneously."

The worst fire season in Greece was in 2007, when large sections of forest and farmland were destroyed mainly in the country's south, and more than 60 people were killed. </s> Greece is under threat from huge wildfires, which are threatening the lives of both local residents and tourists. Already the seaside town of Mati has been devastated by the quickly moving flames and emergency services have been called to look for missing persons. The Rafina region, where Mati is located, is a known tourist hotspot, especially for young families and the elderly. Hundreds of emergency firefighters have been called to tackle the fires, which now threaten to spread beyond the small village.

How did the Greek fires start? The exact cause of the wildfires is not yet determined, but dry and scorching hot weather in Greece is likely responsible. Wind speeds of up to 50mph are also to blame for pushing the inferno through the local environment. Greek authorities are still determining whether suspicious activity could be to blame, however, and have employed a drone to scan the area.

How many people have died in the Greece wildfires? It has been confirmed that at least 74 people have now died as a result of the wildfires, wth many more missing. Rescuers working in the area came upon a devastating scene where 26 people were huddled together as they died in the fires just metres from the sea. More than 150 people are also thought to have been injured in the blaze, and there are fears for eight missing tourists.

Most of those affected by the blaze are local holidaymakers or nearby residents who became trapped and some British tourists are also thought to be in danger. The Foreign Office has advised that anyone trapped the area of the blaze should contact the British Embassy in Athens. While many authorities are urging caution, flights to Athens have apparently not been affected. This is not the first time Greece has been ravaged by devastating fires, as 11 years ago in 2007 extremely hot conditions caused a surge in forest and wildfires. </s> Wildfires have been ravaging Greece tourist hotspots of Athens, Mati and Kineta forcing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to declare a state of emergency. Eerie footage captured from a Norwegian Airline flight landing in Athens shows smaller towns surrounding the capital ablaze with smaller fires. Large clouds of smoke can also be seen cloaking the area as the wildfire rage on. Greece's Red Cross organisation reported 26 people were found dead in a villa in the coastal town of Mati, 29km from Athens, raising the death toll from the inferno to 49.

Fires first broke on Monday near Kineta and continued to burn through the night, forcing authorities to issue an evacuation order for visitors and residents. Fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri told The National Herald that 156 adults and 16 children have been treated for injuries caused by the wildfires. Ms Malliri added that strong winds fuelled the flames and had the fire begin to encroach on residential areas, blocking residents and visitors from fleeing their homes. Militiadis Mylonas, deputy director of the Ambulance Service, said authorities are expecting the death toll to increase in the coming hours. Mr Mylonas said: "It took people by surprise and the events happened very fast.

"Also, the fires broke out on many fronts, so all these factors made the situation extremely difficult." Mr Mylonas added: "The task we face now is organising the identification of victims by members of their families." Greece has called on the EU for assistance and said Cyprus offered firefighters to help them battle the blazes and Spain offered to contribute aircrafts capable of dropping water on the flames. Prime Minister Tsipras cut short an official trip to Bosnia in order to coordinate the response. He said more than 600 firefighters and 300 vehicles are working to extinguish the wildfires. </s> Wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town killed at least 60 people, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The inferno was by far Greece's worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati late Monday afternoon and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, lying close together near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach.

"They had tried to find an escape route, but unfortunately these people and their kids didn't make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced," Nikos Economopoulos, head of Greece's Red Cross, told Skai TV.

Coast guard vessels and other boats rescued almost 700 people who had managed to get to the shoreline and plucked another 19 survivors and four dead bodies from the sea, the coast guard said.

A Reuters photographer saw at least four dead people on a narrow road clogged with cars heading to a beach.

"Residents and visitors in the area did not escape in time even though they were a few metres from the sea or in their homes," fire brigade spokesperson Stavroula Maliri said.

In total, at least 60 people died, said Evangelos Bournous, mayor of nearby Rafina-Pikermi.

It was unclear how many people remained unaccounted for as coast guard vessels combed beaches to find any remaining survivors, with military hospitals on full alert, a government spokesperson said.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Of the 156 people injured, 11 were in intensive care, they added.

"Today, Greece is mourning and we are declaring three days of national mourning in the memory of those who perished," he said in a televised address.

Mati, 29 kilometres east of the capital, is a popular spot for Greek holiday-makers, particularly pensioners and children at camps.

Greece's fire brigade said the intensity and spread of the wildfire at Mati had slowed on Tuesday as winds died down, but it was still not fully under control. The service urged residents to report missing relatives and friends.

White smoke rose from smouldering fires in parts of Mati early on Tuesday. Burned-out cars were scattered outside gated compounds where three- and four-storey buildings bore signs of fire damage.

"It is a difficult night for Greece," said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, looking pale after returning from a visit to Bosnia.

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle fires that raged out of control in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links.

Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after Greece said it needed air and land assets from European Union partners.

"Our thoughts go to Greece and the victims of the terrible fires. France and Europe express their solidarity with both Sweden and Greece and offer help," French President Emmanuel Macron said in tweets published in French and Greek. Sweden has also suffered forest fires.

Newspaper printed banner headlines including "Killer Fire" and "Hell" and reported fears the death toll would climb.

Authorities said they would use an unmanned drone from the United States to monitor and track any suspicious activity.

Tsipras and Greek officials have expressed misgivings at the fact that several major fires broke out at the same time.

Wildfires are not uncommon in Greece, and a relatively dry winter helped create the current tinder-box conditions. It was not immediately clear what ignited the fires.

A hillside of homes was gutted by flames east of Athens. A mayor said he saw at least 100 homes and 200 vehicles burning.

Earlier on Monday, Greek authorities urged residents of a coastal region west of Athens to abandon their homes as another wildfire burned ferociously, closing one of Greece's busiest motorways, halting train links and sending plumes of smoke over the capital. </s> ATHENS (CNN) - At least 50 people have died in the worst wildfires to hit Greece in more than a decade, with some residents forced to flee into the sea to escape the advancing flames.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning.

Residents told of horrifying scenes as flames engulfed a seaside village, where the only way out for some was to run for the water.

Boats were mobilized in a hurriedly-organized rescue operation as the flames took hold on Monday night. Reuters reported that 696 people were picked up from beaches and 19 from the sea. Rescuers retrieved four bodies from the sea.

More than 150 people have been injured in the blazes, which are burning in three main fronts in the Attica region, including one that is currently out of control near the seaside resort village of Mati. The area is popular with Greek tourists, in particular pensioners and children who go to holiday camps there.

So far 715 people have been evacuated, mainly from the area of Mati, according to government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos.

The fires are the deadliest to have hit the country since blazes that burned through the southern Peloponnese 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," Tzanakopoulos said in a briefing late Monday.

The Attica region, which has a population of around 3.5 million people, is home to the capital Athens, the port of Piraeus and a number of suburban towns.

The fires forced Prime Minster 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.

"Property, all that has a material value, (can be) recreated. Human lives are the ones that cannot come back."

Mati resident Nana Laganou told journalists that she had escaped by running into the sea, that the fire was "lightning fast" and that it was the first time she'd encountered something like this.

"I would have liked to see some (reaction) from the state, but we didn't and we won't and that makes me angry."

Another Mati resident, Kostas Laganos, said that he had also escaped the flames by diving into the ocean. "Thankfully the sea was there and we went into the sea, because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water, it burned our backs and we dove into the water," he said.

"It reminded me of the eruption (of Vesuvius in 79 AD) at Pompeii, exactly that, and I said my God, we must run to save ourselves, and nothing else. Terrible."

So far Spain and Cyprus have offered assistance, and Greece has called on other fellow members of the European Union to help battle the blaze.

Various governments, including the US and the Netherlands, offered sympathy to the beleaguered region.

Much of Europe has been baking under a massive high-pressure ridge that is allowing tropical heat to climb all the way to the Arctic.

Temperatures above 32C (90F) extended to the northern reaches of Scandinavia, setting records in Sweden, Finland and Norway for stations above the Arctic Circle.

The result has been a string of unprecedented wildfires in Sweden that have prompted the country to request assistance from other nations such as Italy, with more resources to fight wildfires.

Copyright 2018 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> A firestorm that swept through a seaside resort town near the Greek capital killed at least 60 people, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace on a beach as they tried to flee the flames, officials said.

The two largest wildfires — one 20 miles northeast of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta — broke out Monday during hot, dry summer conditions.

Fanned by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, the flames spread rapidly into populated seaside towns — too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee, fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared a three-day national mourning period for those killed in the wildfires, Sky News reported.

In Rafina, rescue workers found the bodies of 26 people huddled together near a beach.

“They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn’t make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced,” Nikos Economopoulos, the head of Greece’s Red Cross, told Skai TV.

Many tourists and residents fled toward the coastline to escape the ferocious flames and choking smoke. Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight, said Merchant Marine deputy minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

But some didn’t make it to the beach. The head of Greece’s Red Cross, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, told Skai television that a Red Cross rescue team reported finding the 26 bodies in a compound northeast of Athens. In all, the death toll stood at 50 by Tuesday morning, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.

“Everything happened in seconds,” said Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound. “I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea.”

Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours: “It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere.”

When the flames died down, Spyros Hadjiandreou came searching for loved ones.

“My niece and cousin were staying here on holiday. I don’t know if they made it out,” he said. “I don’t know if they are OK. I haven’t heard from them.”

“We were unlucky,” he said. “The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes.”

Tzanakopoulos, the government spokesman, said 715 people were evacuated from beaches and coastline by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats. The coast guard said 19 people were rescued at sea, some of whom had swum out to escape the flames.

Rafina’s dock became a makeshift hospital during the night as paramedics checked survivors, some of them clad in only their bathing suits, emerging from coast guard vessels and private boats. The fire department said 156 adults and 16 children were hospitalized with injuries. Eleven of the adults were in serious condition.

In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece Monday and early Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said. Ten were still burning late Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters were battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters and three aircraft.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain was sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey both also offered assistance.

It was the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

“It’s a difficult night for Greece,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said late Monday after cutting short a trip to Bosnia and returning to Athens.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital Monday missed the two big fires, but heavy rain was forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.

Forest fires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summers, and temperatures recently hit highs up to 104 Fahrenheit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> At least 24 people have been killed and more than 100 injured by wildfires in Greece.

At least 24 people have been killed and more than 100 injured by wildfires in Greece.

At least 24 killed and more than 100 injured in Greece wildfires

The deadliest blazes to hit the country in more than a decade have seen wildfires fanned by high winds rage through holiday resorts near Athens.

Of at least 104 people injured by the conflagrations 69 needed hospital treatment and 11 were in a serious condition, officials said.

There are concerns the death toll will rise further still after four more victims, a child and three women, were found in the sea near the blazes, bringing the number of dead to 24.

Greece has sought international help through the EU as the fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Winds reached 50mph as authorities deployed the country's entire fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters to give vacationers time to escape.

Military drones remained in the air in the high winds to help officials direct more than 600 firefighters below.

"We were unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes," said Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the port town of Rafina, a sleepy mainland port that serves Greek holiday islands.

The dock area became a makeshift hospital as paramedics checked survivors when they came off coast guard vessels and private boats.

The operation continued through the night.

The fire posed no immediate threat to Greece's famed ancient monuments, but as it raged inland children's' summer camps and holiday homes were hastily abandoned.

It has been the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade.

More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

"It's a difficult night for Greece," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after flying back to Athens from a trip to Bosnia that was cut short.

Authorities said Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after the request for EU help was made.

Greek Fire Service officials issued public pleas for residents in fire-affected areas to comply with evacuation orders and not stay on in an effort trying to save their homes.

Rafina's mayor said he believed about 100 houses in that area had burned. The fire service was not able to confirm the figure.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital Monday missed the two big fires - one at Rafina, 18 miles to the east, and the other at Kineta, 35 miles to the west.

Heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.

Read more here: Residents flee as two major forest fires rage near Athens </s> Wildfires flanking Athens have killed at least 49 people in Greece and injured more than 150. The fires are the worst the country has seen in a decade, the BBC reports.

The Attica Region of Greece, which includes the capital of Athens, is home to more than 3.8 million people. It’s peak tourism season in Greece, where the sector accounts for $16.2 billion annually, 8% of GDP.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a state of emergency, mobilizing firefighters and military to stop the fires. Italy, Germany, Poland and France have sent planes, vehicles and firefighters to help.

The death toll jumped Tuesday morning after the Red Cross discovered 26 bodies on the lawn of a seaside villa in Mati. Rescue crews have picked up at least 700 tourists from beaches.

CNN reports that some residents in seaside villages had only one way to escape the raging flames: to flee toward the water.

AFP quoted officials who suspect that arson by house looters might have triggered the blazes. In 2007, 84 were killed by forest fires in Greece triggered by high temperatures and arson.

The U.S. Embassy in Athens issued the following travel advisory:

Fueled by record high temperatures, wildfires are wreaking havoc around the world this summer, with 27 active fires in Sweden killing at least one person.
The death toll from the wildfires in Greece rises to 80 people while many others are still missing.