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Greece ravaged by raging inferno weathers worst wildfire in years

Nearly 50 people have died in wildfires burning in the Attica region around Athens

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Buildings burn in the town of Mati, east of Athens, July 23

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

Regional authorities declared a state of emergency in the eastern and western parts of the greater Athens area as fires fanned by winds raged through pine forests and seaside settlements on either side of the Greek capital

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

A rooster, decoration of a burned house is seen during a forest fire in Mati a northeast suburb of Athens

© EPA-EFE/YANNIS KOLESIDIS

Firefighters trying to extinguish flames during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa, a northeast suburb of Athens

© EPA-EFE/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

Two major forest fires were raging out of control on either side of the Greek capital on July 23, burning houses, prompting residents to flee and turning the sky over Athens a hazy orange from the smoke

© EPA-EFE/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

Members of the emergency services blocking a road near Kineta, west of Athens

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

A plume of smoke turning large parts of the sky orange, with the ancient Acropolis hill at centre

© AP Photo/Theodora Tongas

A motorcyclist looking at smoldering shrubbery on a road near Kineta, west of Athens

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

A view of burnt houses after a fire in Neo Voutza, northeast Attica

© EPA-EFE/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

More than 50 people lost their lives in wildfires in Greece

© EPA-EFE/PANTELIS SAITAS

A Greek national flag fluttering over the charred remains of a burned-out car and house in Mati east of Athens

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

A view of a burning house during a fire in Neo Voutza, northeast Attica

© EPA-EFE/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

A woman sits outside her burned house in Mati east of Athens

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

A firefighting helicopter flying above burned-out cars in Mati east of Athens

© AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

Greece has been gripped by a heat wave since early July, with temperatures skyrocketing to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past few days. On July 23, wildfires broke out on the outskirts of the country’s capital of Athens (in Kineta, about 50 kilometers west of the capital, in the East Attica area and near the town of Kalamos). In addition, forests caught fire in other regions of Greece, including the Corinthia area in the region of Peloponnese and the city of Chania on the island of Crete. Nearly 50 people have died in the wildfires. Witness the events unfolding in Greece.

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