Thousands flee Greek wildfires

Frightened inhabitants of Agios Stefanos gathered in the town's main square as flames closed in on the town centre and police with loudspeakers directed everyone to leave immediately on the main road to Athens, 14 miles to the south-west.

Other residents tried desperately to save their homes with hoses, buckets and branches while planes swooped over the town pouring water on the flaming houses.

"I call on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to where they will go," an emotional Agios Stefanos deputy mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Skai TV. "We had been begging the authorities since early in the morning to send forces ... It is too late now. Too late."

The forests around Athens' northern suburbs have helped the fire leap to new areas. No casualties have been reported so far.

"The pine cones are like projectiles - they cover long distances, too, and spread the fire around," said Avraam Pasipoularidis, mayor of the northern suburb of Drossia. "Everything around me is burning."

The fires ignited late on Friday; by this morning they were reported across an area more than 25 miles wide. They started in the mountains near the town of Marathon, from which the modern long-distance race takes its name.

The army removed anti-aircraft missiles from a nearby military base as the flames approached.

Municipal officials said the fire was threatening the archaeological site of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens - these are the most destructive fires in Greece since blazes killed more than 70 people in 2007.