A least two people have died and two others are reported to have died after wildfires tore across southern Europe.
Fast-moving flames, fanned by strong winds, crossed scrub-covered hillsides in the Keratea region of Greece, getting close to residential areas around 25 miles southeast of Athens on Friday.
One man was found dead in Keratea during an evacuation, the Fire Service said.
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Two Vietnamese tourists died after falling in the water amid strong winds on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades, France24.com said, quoting the Coastguard.
Authorities said 190 firefighters, using planes and helicopters to drop water, battled the blazes as thick clouds of black smoke filled the sky.
Charred cars near Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, southern France. Pic: AP
A firefighting helicopter in the Kepez district of Canakkale in Turkey. Pic: Reuters
Wildfires in neighbouring Turkey forced the temporary closure of the Dardanelles Strait to shipping because of heavy smoke and reduced visibility in the narrow waterway.
A university campus and a care home for the elderly in northwestern Turkey were evacuated by authorities after another fire, which started in a field near Saricaeli village, in Canakkale province, quickly spread to a nearby forested area.
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‘Unprecedented’ wildfire blazes in France
Firefighters in France who contained the country’s largest wildfire in decades are on high alert because it is feared forecast high temperatures this weekend could reignite it.
One person died as the blazes quickly burned more than 62 square miles in three days in the Aude wine region in southern France, where hundreds of residents were forced to leave their homes.
Local authorities said they need to remain vigilant throughout the weekend because temperatures are expected to rise above 30C (86F) during another heatwave.
Burned grapes in Jonquieres, southern France. Pic: AP
Aude administrator Christian Pouget said 1,000 people had not yet been able to return to their homes after the fire swept through 15 communes in the Corbieres mountain region, destroying or damaging at least 36 homes.
One person died at home and at least 21 others were injured, including 16 firefighters, officials said.
Some 1,300 homes were still without electricity on Friday morning after infrastructure was extensively damaged, the Aude prefecture said.
Burned grapevines in Jonquieres, southern France. Pic: AP
Residents have been warned not to return home without permission, as many roads remain blocked and dangerous. Those forced to flee have been housed in emergency shelters across 17 municipalities.
Many fled to the community of Tuchan when the fire started on Tuesday, its mayor Beatrice Bertrand said.
“We have received and hosted over 200 people. We gave them food, thanks to local businesses who opened their stores despite it being very late,” she said.
“Civil Protection brought us beds. And also the local villagers offered their homes to welcome them. It was their first night here and many were shocked and scared.”
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An investigation is under way into the cause of the fire.
Authorities said the fire was the largest recorded since France’s national fire database was created in 2006, but the minister for ecological transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, went further, calling the blaze the worst since 1949 and linking it to climate change.
