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Wildfire rages near Athens as hundreds evacuated

20 July 2022 14:30 (UTC +04:00)

Hundreds of firefighters on Wednesday battled a wildfire that raged for the second day in mountains near Athens, burning homes and cars and forcing the evacuation of at least nine settlements and a hospital, APA reports citing Reuters.

Gale-force windsand thick smoke in the Penteli region hindered fire-fighting efforts from the air and on the ground, authorities said. Strong winds were forecast to persist until Wednesday afternoon.

The wildfire broke out around 1430 GMT on Tuesday, some 27 km (16 miles) north of the capital and was still burning on several fronts. The billowing smoke was visible from the island of Evia some 50 km away.