Coastal properties on Lesbos evacuated as wildfire spreads

Residents were evacuated on Saturday as a wildfire which started in mountainous forests in the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos threatened properties at the beach resort of Vatera.

Thick billowing smoke fanned by strong winds could be seen in the area. One fleeing resident told state TV that her home was on fire.

"We are battling to save homes," Taxiarchis Verros, mayor of western Lesbos, told the broadcaster.

Vatera, an 8 km (five miles) long sandy beach in the southern part of Lesbos, is a popular tourist attraction.

Earlier this week, a wildfire in the mountains near Athens damaged homes and forced hundreds of people to flee, with authorities calling this summer one of the toughest in the Mediterranean.

Last year, wildfires ravaged about 300,000 acres (121,000 hectares) of forest and bushland across Greece during the country's worst heatwave in 30 years.