Athens district evacuated as Greek fire death toll hits 20

ALEXANDROUPOLI, Greece: Thousands of people in an outer district of Greece´s capital Athens were under evacuation orders on Tuesday as firefighters battled a steadily growing wave of wildfires around the country that has left 20 dead.

Civil protection ordered the evacuation of Ano Liosia in northwest Athens, a district of over 25,000 people while at the neighbouring community of Fyli an AFP journalist saw homes on fire.

Over 60 fires had erupted in the last 24 hours, and six countries were sending help via the European Union´s civil protection mechanism, the fire department said, amid a dangerous mix of gale-force winds and temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius.

“The situation is unprecedented, weather conditions are extreme,” fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT, adding that the Tuesday fires “grew to gigantic size” in a short space of time.

Earlier on Tuesday, eighteen suspected migrants were found dead in a forest fire near the Turkish border, north of the city of Alexandroupolis.

As no local residents had been reported missing “the possibility that they are people who entered our country illegally is under investigation,” fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopios said in a televised address.

The area is a frequent entry point for irregular migrants. The latest deaths pushed the overall toll from this week´s fires to 20. Another suspected migrant was found dead in the area and an elderly shepherd was found dead north of Athens on Monday.