EU sends water bombers to help fight wildfires around Athens

Flying boats dispatched as state of emergency called in Loutraki, with firefighters battling fast-moving blaze

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The EU has weighed in with help to combat wildfires in Greece, dispatching four Canadair water bombers as the battle to douse blazes that have raged around Athens intensified.

Conflagrations whipped by gale-force winds left a trail of devastation, decimating pine forests, destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee as flames tore through terrain turned tinder dry by extreme heat.