Members of specialised units – often only working with hand tools – were creating hillside fire breaks to try and slow the advance of the blaze.
In a separate incident,a 67-year-old British man died on a cruise ship in the Greek island of Corfu.
The Port Authority said in a statement: ‘In the morning hours today,the Corfu Port Authority was informed of the death of a 67-year-old foreign passenger (British citizen) on a cruise ship (C/Z) flying the Maltese flag in the port of Corfu.
Tourists evacuate a hotel during a wildfire in Ierapetra on Crete (Picture: EPA)
‘The body was transferred to the Corfu General Hospital for an autopsy.
‘A preliminary investigation is being conducted by the Corfu Central Port Authority.’
Crete is one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations. The risk of wildfires remained very high across Crete and parts of southern Greece on Thursday,according to a daily bulletin issued by the Fire Service.
Elsewhere in Europe,extreme heat has been deadly. A ten-year-old American girl collapsed and died during a visit to the Palace of Versailles yesterday in France.
She had been undergoing treatment for underlying health issues before her collapse,believed to be linked to the heat.
Spain is facing temperatures in the low of 40C this week,and is also facing wildfires in multiple places across the country.
The record-breaking heat has brought Europe to its knees.
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