Horrifying footage taken from a ferry boat shows a wildfire engulfing the Greek island of Evia as people were forced to evacuate.
More than 1,300 residents and holidaymakers staying in the village of Limni had to flee to the harbor after all other exit routes from the village were cut off by the fires.
Footage posted to social media shows people on a ferry boat watch on as it drives away from a dark landscape that is only engulfed by red flames.
"This is not a science fiction movie but real-life horror scenes, people who were evacuated by ferry just to see flames surrounding the entire landscape behind them as they get away towards safer places in Greece," Sotiri Dimpinoudis, a Greek freelance journalist who posted the video, said on Twitter.
Other angles of the fire were also posted to social media. Watch it below:
This is not a sciencefiction movie but real life horror scenes, people who were evacuated by a ferry just to see flames surrounding the entire landscape behind them as they get away towards safer places in #Greece. #fires pic.twitter.com/y74LRZFTJ5
— Sotiri Dimpinoudis ???? (@Sotiridi1) August 6, 2021
High temperatures and strong winds have fanned more than 150 wildfires across the country. In total, an estimate of 2,000 hectares has burned, with temperatures reaching 42 degrees - the highest temperature in Greece since 1987.
"Our priority is always the protection of human life followed by the protection of property, the natural environment and critical infrastructure, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, said in an address to the nation on Friday, according to Reuters.
"Unfortunately, under these circumstances, achieving all these aims at the same time is simply impossible," he added.
