Thousands evacuated as wildfire sweeps across Crete PHOTO

A major wildfire on the Greek island of Crete has destroyed homes and agricultural buildings, forcing the evacuation of around 8,000 people from a popular resort village.

A large wildfire on the Greek island of Crete has destroyed several homes and agricultural structures, prompting the evacuation of approximately 8,000 people from the resort village of Agia Galini, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euronews.

The evacuation was ordered after the blaze advanced to within about one kilometre of the settlement. More than 200 firefighters and 53 vehicles have been deployed to battle the fire, but strong winds continue to hamper firefighting efforts.

Greece's Ministry of Civil Protection has placed Crete, the areas surrounding Athens, the eastern Peloponnese, and most of the Aegean islands under the highest wildfire alert level effective July 30.

According to AFP, three firefighters have died since the outbreak of the country's widespread wildfires.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov