After Mount Penteli last week, it was Mount Parnes, the second of three hills bordering Athens, which was on fire on Tuesday, spreading thick smoke over the Greek capital.
As the fires approached homes, three villages were evacuated at the foot of Mount Parnes, about thirty km northwest of Athens, according to firefighters.
People evacuated from the area
"Our priority is to save lives, hence the decision to evacuate villages," said Tuesday evening, during a press conference, the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chryssohoidis, referring to difficult conditions.
"It is a tragedy", entrusted on the television channel Skai Spyros Vrettos, the mayor of the capital, Acharnon.
The highway connecting the north to the south of the country was cut as a precaution and dozens of children were evacuated from a summer camp, according to Greek media.
Police said they had helped nearly 70 people who were stranded in their homes in communities surrounded by flames.
Temperatures around 45 ° C
Greece was faced with nearly 80 fires on Tuesday, 40 of which are still active, according to Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias.
"We are facing extreme conditions with temperatures around 45 ° C in Attica," added the minister, during the same press conference.
“The coming hours are decisive.
The heatwave will continue, we ask citizens to be vigilant, ”he concluded.
Since last week, Greece has been hit by “the worst heatwave” in more than thirty years, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Planet