Six die as fires ravage southern Greece

ATHENS, Aug 24 (Reuters) At least six people died and thousands of acres (hectares) of forest were consumed in fires racing through Greece's southerly Peloponnese peninsula today, officials said.

Four people were found dead near a hotel north of the town of Areopolis, around 300 km (190 miles) south of Athens, and two firefighters also died, the fire brigade and police said.

It was not clear whether the other four were locals or tourists.

Dozens of villages asked for help, from the Peloponnese's western coast to the southern region of Mani some 80 km (50 miles) further east as the fires were spread by strong winds.

''The situation is extremely dire,'' the mayor of the coastal town of Zacharo, Pantazis Chronopoulos, told reporters adding. ''The speed with which this fire has been spreading is astonishing.'' The government announced a state of emergency in the provinces of Lakonia and Messinia, where six aircraft and seven helicopters were being deployed against the flames, along with dozens of fire trucks.

Police said they were evacuating Areopolis and the nearby villages. The Interior Ministry called an emergency meeting to coordinate firefighting and rescue efforts.

Greece has this year seen some of its worst fires in a decade, caused by high temperatures, drought and arsonists.

The government's popularity has fallen as the public have blamed it for failures to stop the fires, which have reached the outskirts of Athens and destroyed much of the nearby Mount Parnitha nature reserve in the past two months.

Greeks go to the polls on September 16.

''Unfortunately we are experiencing another great environmental disaster in our country,'' said Yannis Ragousis, spokesman for the socialist opposition party PASOK.

Greece's weather service said the winds were expected to weaken late in the evening.

Other firefighters were attacking smaller fires near the towns of Elefsina to the west of the capital and Lagonissi, some 20 km east of Athens, with two airplanes and two helicopters.

Dozens of other fires broke out today across the country as winds picked up after a three-day heatwave that saw temperatures rise to 41 Celsius (106 F).

REUTERS GT BD2042