By Magda Panoutsopoulou
ATHENS
At least one man was killed on Friday as forest fires raged across southern Greece, forcing thousands to flee their homes, local media reported.
The 58-year-old foreign national was transferred to hospital in Neapoli where he died from respiratory problems. There were no immediate reports of other casualties.
As fires fanned by strong winds and high temperatures blazed around the coastal town, the hospital was evacuated.
The wildfires, which have broken out from Athens to the southern tip of the Peloponnese, have created another problem for the government as it struggles to secure a fresh financial bailout from its creditors.
To the east of Athens, fires threatened homes and a house and taverna were damaged in the suburb of Kareas. Dozens of firefighters and 18 fire engines battled the flames threatening the capital’s outskirts, assisted by three Canadair water-bombing planes and two helicopters.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the Civil Protection Agency operations center to be briefed on efforts to deal with multiple fires across four major fronts.
He called for calm and said the armed forces were on standby. He also asked neighboring countries to help by supplying firefighting aircraft.
Yannis Surlas, mayor of Monemvasia on the eastern Peloponnese coast, told national TV that some villages had been surrounded by the flames.
A series of forest fires in across Greece in the summer of 2007 saw 84 people killed.
