Firefighters in Greece struggle to control blazes in country’s northeast and near Athens

Firefighters struggle against strong winds and hot, dry conditions to tame multiple wildfires burning for days in northeastern Greece and on the fringes of the country’s capital.

The wildfires have left 20 people dead over the last week. Eighteen of those, including two boys aged between 10 and 15, are believed to be migrants who crossed the nearby border with Turkey. Their bodies were found by firefighters near a shack in a burnt forest area in northeastern Greece.

Sixty firefighters have been injured battling the flames, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios says.

Elsewhere in Europe, fires on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, northwestern Turkey near the border with Greece, Portugal and Italy were being brought under control, officials say.

Dozens of firefighting aircraft, including from other European countries, and hundreds of ground forces are faced with tackling numerous fires across Greece. Yesterday alone, firefighters battled 99 separate blazes across the country, authorities say.