Thousands of people flee fires in Greece and Turkey

Thousands of people in Greece and Turkey have been forced to evacuate their homes as firefighters battle to contain wildfires fanned by strong winds and searing heat.

- Helena Smith

As temperatures in southeastern Europe exceeded 40°C for a seventh straight day, the Greek prime minister praised rescue workers for waging "a titanic battle" to bring fires under control.

"The state mechanism has been called to engage in a titanic battle, simultaneously responding to dozens of wildfires across the country," Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement. "To those who saw their properties destroyed by the fury of fire, know that the state will stand by your side."

Eleven regions of Greece face a "very high risk" of fire, and the government has appealed for help from EU partners to deal with fires on multiple fronts.

Emergency services said that while a conflagration that had injured two firefighters in Kyroneri, northeast of Athens, had been quelled, fires around Messinia in the southwest Peloponnese and on the popular isle of Kythera were not contained.

Authorities were also battling flare-ups on the islands of Evia and Crete.