Wildfires force mass evacuations in Athens suburbs
MOSCOW. August 24. KAZINFORM. Dozens of homes have been destroyed by wildfires to the north of Athens and thousands of residents have been evacuated, officials said on Sunday; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Thousands of acres of forest have been destroyed by the fires since Friday night, but no casualties have been reported.
The fire, fanned by strong winds, has caused a large cloud of black smoke to spread over the capital. The most severely effected suburbs have been Drafi, Pallini, Pendeli, and Pikermi.
The Greek government has requested urgent international help to bring the blaze under control. Officials say firefighting aircraft have already been sent from France, Italy and Cyprus; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.