Alexandroupoli

Authorities battling a major wildfire in northeastern Greece that has been described as the European Union's largest single recorded fire have recovered another body, the fire department said Friday, bringing the total death toll from wildfires in Greece this week to 21.

Water-dropping planes from several European countries joined hundreds of firefighters Wednesday battling wildfires raging for days across Greece that left 20 people dead, while major blazes also burned in Spain's Tenerife and in northwestern Turkey near the Greek border.

The Greek authorities have apprehended an individual in connection with a disturbing video posted on social media on Tuesday. The video depicted a man confining a group of 13 undocumented migrants within a cargo trailer, which was being towed by a 4WD vehicle, near the town of Alexandroupoli in northern Greece.

Eighteen people died in the village of Avantas in Evros, northeastern Greece, where fires raged on Tuesday for a fourth straight day, along with dozens of new blazes.

The victims, which included two children, are believed to be migrants who apparently had not been informed of the fire's progress.

Firefighters on Tuesday found the burnt bodies of 18 people believed to have been migrants who had crossed the Turkish border into an area of northeastern Greece where wildfires have raged for days.

Two children were among the 18 people burned in a forest fire in the northeast of the country, an official has confirmed.

Pavlos Pavlidis, coroner in the city of Alexandroupoli, conducted an initial inspection at the site where the charred remains were found, south of the village of Avantas.

Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of two villages in the central Viotia region, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Athens, after a forest fire broke out Monday morning. The coast guard put two patrol boats and several fishing boats and private vessels on standby in case an evacuation by sea was necessary.

The İpsala border gate, which has been closed for crossings due to an ongoing forest fire that has raged for three days in the city of Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece near the Turkish border, has been reopened.

A wildfire continues to rage unchecked for the third consecutive day near the town of Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece.

The most challenging fronts are identified in Nipsa, Doriko, and the region between Amfitriti and Maestro. Firefighting teams have managed to bring the flames in Apalos, Maestros, and Avantas under partial control.

Authorities evacuated another five villages near Greece's northeastern border with Turkey on Sunday where a large summer wildfire that has already destroyed several homes over the weekend drew dangerously close.