A forest fire that has broken out near the Greek capital Athens has cut power to parts of the city. The blackouts were caused by damage to pylons, which automatically shut down several netwroks when they were outed by the blaze.

With the flames advancing along a wide front, and being fanned by strong winds at least 20 fire engines have been deployed along with scores of firefighters and water-bombarding planes and helicopters.

Particular attention is being paid to keeping Athens airport working and free from smoke, Power was down in central Athens and some coastal suburbs, and it is unclear when full services will be restored.

Dozens of people had to be rescued from stranded lifts in high-rise buildings. Last year southern Greece burned for 10 days in a disaster that killed 65 people.

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