Dozens die as wildfires ravage resorts in Greece

Country calls on help from Europe as blazes leave trail of death and destruction

At least 74 people have been killed and more than 100 injured by wildfires in Greece.

The deadliest blazes to hit the country in more than a decade have seen wildfires fanned by high winds rage through holiday resorts near Athens.

Fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said that 164 adults and 23 children have been taken to hospital with injuries. Eleven of the adults are in a serious condition.

Ms Malliri said that strong winds have fanned the flames, with the fires spreading rapidly into inhabited areas, preventing people who are in their homes or in their cars from fleeing.

Greece has requested firefighting help from the European Union, and Ms Malliri said a military transport plane is arriving with 60 firefighters from Cyprus, while two water-dropping planes are expected from Spain.

The death toll was raised after rescue crews reported finding the bodies of more than 20 people huddled together near a beach.

The head of Greece’s Red Cross, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, said a member of a Red Cross rescue team had told him the crew searching a seaside area north-east of Athens found 26 bodies, apparently families, huddled tightly together.

The group is believed to have been discovered near several cars found charred outside a walled compound gutted by the fire.

“Everything happened in seconds,” said local resident Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound. “I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea.”

Mr Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours. He said: “It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding, burning pine cones were flying everywhere.”

Ministers earlier said more than 700 people had been rescued by sea by the coast guard 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 50mph as authorities deployed the country’s entire fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters to give holidaymakers time to escape.

Gas canisters were exploding, burning pine cones were flying everywhere.

Military drones remained in the air in the high winds to help officials direct more than 600 firefighters below.

Turkey has offered to send firefighting aircraft to help tackle the blazes.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his condolences and said his country was ready to help.

The Spanish government added it had sent two amphibious planes to help firefighting efforts.

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.

Fleeing drivers clogged highways into Athens, hampering the firefighting effort.

“It’s a difficult night for Greece,” prime minister Alexis Tsipras said.

A man passes burned cars in Mati, east of Athens, after wildfires ripped through the area