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<\/a><\/p>\nThey acted after receiving notification from Danish authorities, who had received a call from someone in Greece saying they were among a group of 10 people who fled a forest fire in a boat.
\nResidents have been forced to flee their homes as the fire spreads
\nRegional authorities have declared a state of emergency in the eastern and western parts of the greater Athens
\nA firefighter wears a flame resistant uniform as wildfire burns in the town of Rafina
\nThe country has appealed for international help to cope with the fires near the capital and the Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, cut short a visit to Bosnia due to the scale of the emergency.<\/p>\n
He returned to Athens to preside over an emergency response meeting with fire chiefs and government officials.<\/p>\n Regional Greek authorities have declared a state of emergency in the eastern and western parts of greater Athens, as fires fanned by gale-force winds raged through pine forests and seaside towns on either side of the Greek capital.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nA firefighter tries to extinguish hotspots during the wildfires which have claimed the lives of at least 20 people
\nCars are blocked at the closed National Road during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens
\nA volunteer directs vehicles as a wildfire burns in Kineta
\nThe first fire broke out in a pine forest near the seaside settlement of Kineta 30 miles west of Athens between the capital and Corinth.<\/p>\n