Three die in Greece as gales stoke fires, disrupt ferries

Three people including two Vietnamese tourists died in Greece on Friday as ferocious winds whipped up wildfires and disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers.

More than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a blaze in Keratea southeast of Athens, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told ERT state television.

“It’s a difficult fire,” he said, citing gusts of wind and reporting that several communities had been evacuated.

Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly person inside their burned home in Keratea and the wind was hampering water bombers’ ability to operate, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a press briefing.

An AFP journalist in the nearby town of Palai