Greek villages evacuated amid massive forest fire

Athens, May 20 (EFE).- A massive and rapidly-spreading forest fire that broke out to west of the Greek capital Athens forced the evacuation of residents from seven nearby villages on Thursday.

An undetermined number of houses were destroyed in the fire that erupted overnight, according to a fire department spokesperson. The houses were empty at the time.

The deputy regional governor of Corinth, Anastasios Giolis, said the fire had extended across 10 kilometers of terrain.

Police units cut traffic on roads in the vicinity after smoke clouds covered areas in Athens.

Some 250 firefighters with air support have been on the ground since early Thursday. They estimated that an area of about 2,000 hectares had been damaged by the blaze.EFE

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