PATRAS: Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands. Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday. Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.

At least one person in Greece has died after wildfires consumed nearly 16,000 acres of land amid a surge of fires across Europe.

In Griechenland breiten sich mehrere große Brände unkontrolliert aus. Die Behörden lassen die Gemeinde Kato Achaia bei Patras räumen – mehr als 7500 Menschen sind betroffen.