EU sends planes to help Greece fight wildfires

French planes are due to arrive in Greece today to help local authorities fight wildfires raging near Athens and in the Peloponnese.

Two Canadians and a reconnaissance plane to coordinate air and ground operations should arrive this afternoon.

Since yesterday, Greek firefighters near Athens have been fighting to maintain control over the spread of the fire, which has been hampered by strong winds and high temperatures.

Smoke billowed over parts of Athens and helicopters flew over the fire. The Greek channel Skai TV showed footage of people using buckets of water to try to stop the fire from spreading.

In Laconia, on the southern Greek peninsula of Peloponnese, a fire forced the residents of two villages to evacuate. The Greek firefighting plane was forced to land, but the crew were unharmed.