Death toll from wildfires in Greece rises to 3

Three firefighters have died in wildfires across Greece, two on the island of Crete and one in the Peloponnese region in southern Greece, local media reported on Wednesday.

The two firefighters were found dead inside their vehicle in the Nea Krya Vrysi area of Crete's Rethymno region after they were apparently trapped by the flames.

One was a seasonal firefighter, while the other had served for five years at the Agia Fotini fire station.

“Today is an extremely difficult day for the Fire Department,” the agency said in a statement, expressing condolences to their families and colleagues.

The third firefighter was found unconscious, outside the wildfire's perimeter in the Ageranos area of Gythio in the Peloponnese, the Fire Brigade announced.

He was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Around 51 people were evacuated from the wildfire in southern Crete after attempting to escape the blaze by sea, authorities stated. Evacuation efforts remained extremely difficult because of the gale-force winds -- eight on the Beaufort scale -- that prevailed in the area.

Firefighters are also battling another wildfire on the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea's Cyclades that has been burning for several days.

Civil Protection authorities issued a new 112 alert for several villages on Thursday becasue of the ongoing wildfire on Paros.