Chief fire officer Vasilios Vathrakoyannis said 220 wildfires have been reported across Greece in the past week as the nation is “going through perhaps the most difficult days of the summer”.

He added: “The fire brigade was called upon to manage a series of particularly demanding and simultaneous incidents, with major fronts in Paros, Rethymno, Heraklion, Aegialia, Fokida, Lesvos and Kalymnos, where strong ground and air forces were deployed, under extremely adverse weather conditions.”