Greece | The graphic relates how wide the wildfire near Athens has spread: It would reach from the southern tip of Helsinki to Korso

In Greece wildfires raging around the capital Athens are believed to have caused their first death, reports the Greek news agency ANA.

The body of a 60-year-old woman was found early on Tuesday in a burned factory building in a suburb of Athens that had been ordered to evacuate.

Within the precincts of raging wildfires have been considered the worst of the year in Greece, reports news agency Reuters.

On Tuesday, the fiercest flames seemed to have subsided, but the extinguishing work continues with the help of hundreds of rescuers. On Tuesday, Greece is expected to receive firefighting aid from several EU countries as well as Serbia and Turkey. For example, the French interior minister by Gerald Darman promised France to send 180 rescuers, 55 fire trucks and a helicopter to the fire area.

A strong forest fire warning is in effect in Greece until Thursday, Reuters reports. The wind is expected to strengthen again on Tuesday and the temperatures will rise to 40 degrees in some places.

“The general picture seems to have improved, but there are still many fronts in different areas,” described the spokesperson of the local fire department Vassilis Vathrakogiannis According to Reuters.

Earlier, Vathrakogiannis had described the situation as dangerous, as the fires spread between residences. He stated that the strong winds spread the pieces “like lightning”.

Fires started on Sunday near the village of Varnávas, about 35 kilometers from Athens. The cause of their ignition is not yet known.

After that, strong winds and dry terrain allowed the fires to spread to the surrounding areas.

On Monday, Greece’s national observatory estimated that at least 100 square kilometers of land had been destroyed by fires, reports news agency AFP.

A volunteer participated in extinguishing wildfires near the village of Pentéli on Monday. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP

A wildfire set a car on fire in the village of Varnávas on Monday. Picture: Marios Lolos / Xinhua

Local residents consoled each other after a wildfire raged near the village of Varnávas on Sunday. Picture: Marios Lolos / Xinhua

On Sunday evacuations were carried out in the area of ​​the historic city of Marathon, and local residents were advised to move towards the beach town of Nea Makri. The city of Marathónas is currently located in the Marathon region, about 40 kilometers east of Athens.

On Tuesday, Nea Makri was also ordered to evacuate, says British Broadcasting Corporation BBC. According to the media, thousands of people have been evacuated.

In addition, the fires have hit at least the area of ​​Pentéli municipality and the Vrilissia neighborhood north of Athens, says AFP.

Smoke from wildfires has been seen in central Athens, where the air quality was at the end of the week at a dangerous level. On Tuesday, the thick smoke that covered the city had mostly dissipated, reports Reuters.

Past summer has been record hot in Greece. June and July were the warmest in the country since reliable measurement data began to be collected in 1960.

Meteorologists believe that the current summer will be the hottest in Greece’s recorded history, says the British newspaper The Guardian.

The heat started exceptionally early this year. As early as mid-June, many tourists was reported dead during a record heat wave. For example, a 67-year-old television journalist and doctor Michael Mosley died of suspected dehydration and heatstroke on the island of Symi.

Also last summer, wildfires raged particularly strongly in the Mediterranean countries. In July last year, record temperatures in Greece fueled wildfires across the country, and for example In Rhodes tens of thousands of local residents and tourists had to flee the fires.

In the background of the Acropolis hill in central Athens, the sky glowed orange due to wildfires on Monday evening. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP