Dramatic footage shows firefighters battling massive wildfires near Athens

Dramatic footage shows volunteer firefighters battling the massive wildfires that have ravaged forested areas around Athens, Greece.

The wildfires initially began near Varnavas, just north of the capital Athens, on July 17 and have led to the evacuation of thousands of people.

Video shows a fire engine reversing and volunteer firefighters on foot as flames surround them.

So far, 40 square miles (104 square kilometres) of land has been burned northeast of Athens - twice the size of Manhattan.

Further footage filmed from a passenger jet on Sunday (Aug 11) shows the extent of the fires, with a long streak of burning orange and red splitting the ground down below.

As of Wednesday (Aug 14), the fire had damaged 22 businesses and rendered at least 78 homes uninhabitable, with nearly half of them completely destroyed.