Evacuations in Athens as wildfires reach edges of Greek capital

About 600 people were evacuated from nine areas close to where the fire broke out on Mount Penteli

A large forest fire broke out northeast of Athens, fanned by high winds (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the hillside suburbs of Athens while gale-force winds fanned the flames of a wildfire that threatened to destroy their homes.

The wildfire broke out at about 2.30pm on Tuesday on Mount Penteli, some 16 miles (27km) north of Greece’s capital.

Strong winds fuelled the fire that was burning on several fronts, and the flames were still raging on Wednesday.