Wildfires Kill More Than 70 in Greece

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Fire officials in Greece said Tuesday at least 74 people have been killed and more than 140 injured in wildfires raging through resort towns near the country's capital.

Regional authorities have declared a state of emergency in areas east and west of Athens and deployed the army to help fight the blazes.

Athens has asked the European Union for aerial and ground support to help battle the flames. Greece said Cyprus offered to send firefighters, while Spain offered water-dropping aircraft. BBC News reported countries, including Italy, Germany, Poland and France, have sent planes, vehicles and firefighters.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia on Monday and returned to Athens to preside over an emergency-response meeting.

"We are doing everything humanly possible to try and tackle these fires," Tsipras said. "What concerns us is that there are fires occurring simultaneously."

The first fire broke out in a pine forest near the small town of Kineta, 50 kilometers west of Athens.

Three communities were evacuated, and the blaze shut down a nearly 20-kilometer section of a major highway.