Hundreds of residents have been evacuated overnight from the mountainside suburbs of Drafi, Anthousa, Dioni and Dasamari, due to a large wildfire that had broken out on the slopes of Mount Penteli, just 25 kilometres northeast of Athens.
Fifteen planes and nine helicopters were involved in the firefighting effort, the Greek Fire Department said, with firefighters being unable to contain the blaze due to strong gale-force winds.
Police officers and firefighters carried elderly residents out of their homes to safety as the flames approached, AP News reported.
A spokesman for the Fire Department said that more than 400 firefighters had been deployed with officials adding that some 300 police officers are on duty to restrict traffic movements and patrol evacuated areas to prevent looting.
According to local reports, there are no cases of injuries or stranded people.
#Acropolis and the #Parthenon being illuminated by the catastrophic fire burning Mt. #Penteli, few miles away in northern #Athens pic.twitter.com/v72dL0V423
— George Mastropavlos (@g_mastropavlos) July 19, 2022
Ντράφι: Η #φωτια πλησιάζει σπίτια#Greece #wildfires pic.twitter.com/kDAQOkG1V8
— Savvas Karmaniolas (@savvaskarma) July 19, 2022
