Greece wildfires - latest: Historic town faces ‘biblical catastrophe’ as wall of fire burns near Athens

Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to battle a major forest fire raging out of control on the outskirts of the Greek capital Athens .

Stergios Tsirkas, mayor of the historic Greek town of Marathon, warned they are facing a “biblical catastrophe”.

“Our whole town is engulfed in flames and going through difficult times,” he told Greece’s Skai TV channel.

“We are facing a biblical catastrophe.”

The town’s seven thousand people are being moved to safety as the fire advances on Athens, just over 25 miles southeast.

Thousands of residents have fled their homes as the fast-moving blaze fuelled by hot, windy weather burned trees, houses and cars and sent smoke clouds over the Greek capital.

A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday morning, and emergency alerts continue to be sent out.

Around 600 firefighters, backed by 27 teams specially trained to tackle wildfires and including more than 80 members of the armed forces, are battling the flames.

More than 180 vehicles were deployed, while more than 30 water-dropping planes and helicopters were providing aerial support.

Evacuation orders were issued for more than a dozen areas, including Marathon and several Athens suburbs. Three Athens hospitals were put on heightened alert to treat any potential injuries.