Two wildfires swept uncontrolled through forestland and towns northwest of Athens for a second day on Tuesday, forcing more residents to flee their homes as authorities fought to stop the flames reaching an area with oil refineries, writes Reuters.

One of the fire fronts stretched over 8 km, according to witnesses and officials, burning homes and cars around the area of Mandra, west of the capital, which was blanketed by dense smoke.

“We are living a nightmare”, Mandra mayor Christos Stathis told Open TV. “Houses and properties are on fire”.

In 2017, Mandra, a largely industrial area, was hit by flash floods that killed 24 people.

Traffic was suspended for hours on two national roads connecting Athens with the cities of Elefsina and Corinth, where oil refineries operate. Late on Tuesday, the flames were headed toward the seaside town of Nea Peramos.

Homes and a small shipyard in the town of Neos Pontos had been destroyed. Earlier a thick column of smoke rose into the sky after an explosion, a Reuters witness said.

So far, at least seven districts have been evacuated and police assisted the evacuation of more than 300 people, a police official told Reuters.

“We put all our effort into making this, we built this, and now it"s all gone”, - said Andreas Theodosiadis, a resident of Mandra, standing around debris and charred remains of cars.