Greek firefighters battle flames near Athens, on southern peninsula

Firefighters and local residents were struggling to
contain blazes near the Greek capital of Athens on Friday, even as
the fires were fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, dpa reported.
Large plumes of smoke floated through the Athens neighbourhood of
Ilioupoli, and Greek Skai broadcaster showed people trying to control
the fires' spread with buckets of water. Helicopters circled
overhead.
At the same time, fires on the southern Greek peninsula of
Peloponnese prompted the evacuation of at least two villages. A
firefighting plane was also forced to make an emergency landing. The
pilots of the plane were uninjured.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was due to visit the headquarters of
the civil defence authorities to asses the risks posed by the fires.