Alone in the sea ... forlorn witness to the ‘biblical’ fires sweeping Greece

A LONE onlooker stands in the sea, taking in the devastation caused this weekend by the deadly fires raging across Greece amid scorching summer temperatures.

He watches from Kochyli beach near the village of Limni on the island of Evia, about 100 miles north of Athens. More than 600 people fled on ferries and fishing boats as flames closed in.

Last night, Home Secretary Priti Patel sent British firefighters to help battle the ‘biblical catastrophe’ engulfing the country.

Two people have been killed in the fires as Greece faces its worst heatwave for 30 years, with temperatures of up to 45C.

A 38-year-old volunteer firefighter was killed by a falling electricity pole in Athens as the wildfires raged for a fifth day, and in apocalyptic scenes that went on late into the night, thousands were evacuated from towns north of Athens.

In southern Greece, Eleni Drakoulakou, deputy mayor of East Mani, said: ‘It’s a biblical catastrophe.’ Last night Ms Patel, who was in Greece on Tuesday and Wednesday, said: ‘I’ve seen firsthand this week the devastating wildfires ripping through Greece, and the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with our Greek friends at this difficult time.’