ATHENS, August 3. /TASS/. A Russian Be-200ChS amphibious plane is taking part in an operation to put out a big wildfire in a forest in Athens’ northern Varympompi suburb, the ERT-1 television channel said on Tuesday.

The fire broke out on Tuesday in forest in a mountainous area off the Tatoi Palace, the former Greek royal family's summer residence. According to ERT-1, the fire is not threatening either the Tatoi Palace or dwelling houses in the area.

It is planned to engage more aircraft to the firefighting effort as the fire is hard to reach on the ground.

Apart from that, efforts are continued to extinguish a wildfire on the island of Rhodes, which has been ravaging for the third day in a row and which has already consumed more than 700 hectares of forests.

A wildfire that broke out near the city of Koroni in the southwest of the Peloponnese on Monday is growing stronger because of winds, with the flames approaching houses in several settlements. People were evacuated from one of them.