Eighteen bodies have been found in a forested area of northern Greece hit by wildfires for the past four days, the Greek fire service says.
Initial reports suggest those who died may have been migrants. A coroner and investigation team are heading to the scene in the Dadia forest.
The Evros region of north-eastern Greece, not far from the Turkish border, has been ravaged by fires.
The fire inside the forest of Dadia broke out at noon on Monday, and the firefighting forces tried to deal with it before it spread.
The deputy regional governor, Mr Dimitris Petrovits, told AMNA that this is an "autonomous" outbreak that occurred, for an unknown reason, at a distance from the other ongoing fires in the Gibrena location.
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The battle with the blaze continues in Evros (Alexandroupolis) region for a fourth consecutive day.
Currently, there is a large front in the forest of Kirki, in Plaka, and in the former settlement of Amfithea.
According to the Fire Brigade, 59 fire engines with a 214-member crew, 11 teams of firefighters on foot, volunteers, police forces, municipal water trucks assisted by four firefighting aircraft, and three water-dropping helicopters are operating in the area.
Another nine villages are being evacuated in the area of Alexandroupolis due to the wildfire raging in the area. The residents of the villages Mesimvria, Atarni, Avra, Komaros, Perama, Mesti, Dikella, Sykorrachi and Plaka were informed by 112 emergency number message to evacuate with directions from the city of Komotini.
At the same time, a wildfire is in progress in Fyli, west Attica region. According to the Fire Department, the fire broke out at 11:56 a.m. near the Kleiston Monastery (The Holy Dormition of the Virgin).
So far, 26 firefighters with 13 vehicles are operating, while air forces have also been mobilised.
A message was sent to the residents of Fyli via the emergency number 112 to evacuate their area and head towards Ano Liosia due to a forest fire that is in progress.
Three fires that broke out on Tuesday in Lakka Katsari, Nea Zoi and Ammoudies of Aspropyrgos, southern Attica, are in progress.
Police suspended vehicle traffic on Attiki Odos from Egaleo ring road to Elefsina toll post in both directions due to the wildfire in Aspropyrgos.
According to the Fire Brigade, the three fires broke out close to industrial areas. Twenty-seven fire engines, a 72-member crew, and two water-dropping helicopters are battling the blaze.
A message was sent via emergency number 112 to evacuate Pontion and Veras settlements due to the wildfire raging in Aspropyrgos. Earlier, a letter was sent to the residents of Lakka Katsari to evacuate the area due to the fire.
A fire also broke out in Valomandra, Kalyvia, Attica region, but is now under partial control.
According to Fire Brigade's sources, 23 firefighters with six fire engines and 1 team of firefighters on foot assisted by five aircraft are battling the blaze.
A message was sent via emergency number 112 to the residents in Valomandra to evacuate the area and head to Kalyvia.
Additional European aid is at the disposal of Greece in the battle with the wildfires, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said on Tuesday.
As he noted, Greece activated the civil protection mechanism two days ago. "We deploy almost 1/3 of our aircraft in the rescue fleet. This means we send seven firefighting aircraft and one helicopter to Greece, mainly to the country's northwest.
They are from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden," Ujvari pointed out, adding that over 100 firefighters and about 20 vehicles from Romania and the Czech Republic are currently assisting. At the same time, the "Copernicus" system is also being used.
"The EU remains at the disposal of the Greek authorities if there is a need for more assistance," underlined the EU Commission spokesperson.
READ MORE: Forest fires covered the sky of Greece with smoke - See the satellite image.
