Greece battles wildfires across country, evacuates villages

Firefighters were battling wildfires across Greece and the Western Balkans on Saturday as the south of Europe sweltered under the third heatwave of the summer, with some villages and settlements being evacuated in Greece and Albania.

Explosions could be heard as huge clouds of smoke covered Drosopigi village 25 km north of Athens, where factories with flammable material are located. Helicopters dropped water and 145 firefighters battled the flames, assisted by 44 vehicles, seven helicopters and 10 aircraft.

Two houses caught fire while residents of the nearby village Krioneri were instructed by authorities to leave towards Athens. Five people were taken to hospitals over burns and smoke inhalation.

Temperatures in Greece were forecast to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the Greek weather service said.

"In the last 24 hours alone, 52 agroforestry fires broke out, 44 of which were dealt with immediately, in their initial stage," said Vassilios Vathrakogiannis, a spokesperson for the Fire Brigade.

In neighbouring Albania, 26 fires broke out throughout the country on Saturday, following a large fire near the southern Albanian town of Delvina on Friday which injured three people and forced the evacuation of about 2,000 residents.

PEOPLE RESCUED FROM BEACHES

On the Greek island of Evia, 128 firefighters and 29 vehicles were deployed to put out fires, assisted by six aircraft and seven helicopters, but strong winds were hampering their efforts.

Residents of the island's Triada area were evacuated while two fire trucks were damaged and five firefighters injured during the operation.

The fire on Evia is the latest in a series of bushfires stoked by strong winds and dry conditions this month.

On the island of Kythera, residents from several settlements were evacuated to safe areas and Coast Guard forces said they rescued 138 people, including an infant, from the beach of Limnionas near the area of the fire.

In the area of Messinia, south of Athens, residents of the Kryoneri and Sellas villages were also told to leave.

These sites were on a list of Greek regions on high alert for wildfires due to record-breaking temperatures and strong winds due on Saturday.

In Kosovo, authorities managed to extinguish 17 blazes fuelled by strong winds while 12 others remained active, officials said. In the southern town of Prizren, a fire engulfed a farm, killing eight cows, according to local emergency services.

Local media reported that a separate fire in eastern Kosovo killed around 40 sheep.

Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach.