Athens suburb fire under control

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Firefighters tackling a blaze in the northern suburbs of Athens say the flames have been brought under control and are no longer threatening homes.

Four simultaneous forest fires broke out on Penteli mountain on Thursday and swept down into affluent suburbs some 20km (12 miles) from the city centre.

Dozens of homes were destroyed and at least 10 people were taken to hospital with breathing problems.

Officials say they suspect the fires were the work of arsonists.

"The fire is now away from the suburbs, confined to a forest area and that is where all our efforts are focused," a fire brigade official told Reuters.

Although the fire has been extinguished on all major fronts, officials say emergency crews remain on high alert in case high winds in the area cause a fresh outbreak.

Residents of the Melisia, Vrilisia and Penteli suburbs watched on Thursday as 30m (100ft) high flames engulfed their homes. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated, including 130 patients in a clinic in Melisia.

A state of emergency has been declared in the three affected districts.

"This is a huge catastrophe," the Melisia mayor, Manolis Grafakos, said.

"There are no words to describe it. A large chunk of the forest is gone, houses have been burned and I do not think we are fully aware of the extent of the damage."

Ecological blow

More than 60 fire engines, 19 planes and helicopters as well as hundreds of firefighters and volunteers were involved in tackling the blaze.

However, there has been criticism that the response to the crisis was too slow, with water-dropping planes not reaching the scene for almost two hours.

In a news conference the authorities said the planes had been hampered by smoke and winds of more than 80 km/h (50 mph), which fanned the flames.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says this is the worst fire season in Greece in living memory.

Our correspondent says this particular fire is another serious blow to the ecological health of the capital, because the destruction of woodland means there is even less oxygen getting into the very overcrowded city.