Wildfires scorch Greece for a second day, thousands evacuated

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.

Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.

"Today, it will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country's regions will be very high," Vathrakogiannis said. Temperatures were forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius in some places.

Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic near Patras on Wednesday.

Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their homes.

On the island of Chios, the coast guard used boats to take people to safety on Tuesday as flames reached the shores.

Spain, Portugal, Turkey and the Balkans have also battled wildfires in recent days as a heatwave pushed temperatures over 40 C across parts of Europe. In Albania and Montenegro, wildfires have destroyed houses and possessions since last week.