A MASSIVE wildfire continued to burn across north-eastern Greece today despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of water-dropping aircraft from Greece and several of its European Union partners.

After burning across vast tracts of land, the blaze in the Alexandroupolis and Evros region was mainly concentrated deep in a forest near the border with Turkey, in an area difficult to access.

The wildfire, which was blamed for 20 of the 21 wildfire-related deaths in Greece last week, is the biggest in the EU since the European Forest Fire Information System started keeping records in 2000.

Six planes and four helicopters were assisting 475 firefighters on the ground, backed by 100 vehicles, the fire department said. 

Another 260 firefighters and one helicopter were tackling flare-ups of another major fire burning for days in a forest on the southern slopes of Mount Parnitha, on the fringes of the Greek capital.

Across Greece, firefighters were battling 87 wildfires yesterday, with 44 of them having broken out in the 24 hours between Monday evening and Tuesday evening, the fire department said.

Arson has been suspected in some of the blazes, with authorities reporting that around 170 people had been arrested on fire-related charges.