Greek fire crews lose control of blaze near Athens

People watch the fire in Mandra, west of Athens (Petros Giannakouris/AP/PA)

Evening winds fuelled a major wildfire west of Greece’s capital on Thursday, triggering a series of new evacuations outside Athens as authorities braced for more of the extreme weather that has brought searing heat to southern Europe.

Authorities had declared the huge blaze contained overnight and Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops with the help of extra firefighting aircraft deployed from France and Italy.