Fires rage near Greece’s capital; 20 dead

ATHENS, Greece — Wildfires raged through holiday resorts near Greece’s capital, killing at least 20 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 104, including 11 in serious condition, in the deadliest blazes to hit the country in more than a decade.

Greece sought international help through the European Union as the fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Winds reached 50 A forest fire burns in a mountainous area west of Athens, sending nearby residents fleeing Monday.

mph as authorities deployed the country’s entire fleet of waterdropping planes and helicopters to give vacationers time to escape.

“We were unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes,” said Evangelos

Bournous, mayor of the town of Rafina, a sleepy mainland port that serves Greek holiday islands.

The dock area became a makeshift hospital as paramedics checked survivors when they came off coast guard vessels and private boats. The operation continued through the night.

The fire posed no immediate threat to Greece’s famed ancient monuments, but as it raged inland children’s’ summer camps and holiday homes were hastily abandoned.

It was the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

“It’s a difficult night for Greece,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after flying back to Athens from a trip to Bosnia that was cut short.

Authorities said Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after the request for EU help was made.

Fire officials issued public pleas for residents in fire-affected areas to comply with evacuation orders and not stay on in an effort trying to save their homes.

Rafina’s mayor said he believed about 100 houses in that area had burned.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital Monday missed the two big fires — one at Rafina, 18 miles to the east, and the other at Kineta, 35 miles to the west. Heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.