Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Germany, France, Croatia and Greece as wildfires continue to spread across parts of western and southeastern Europe.
The fires come after successive heatwaves this summer, which have scorched about 500,000 hectares of land across the European Union.
In Croatia, strong winds pushed a wildfire into the popular tourist town of Omis on Friday, affecting residential areas and surrounding forests. Local media reported that 14 people were hospitalised in nearby Split, with seven reportedly in life-threatening condition.
In western Germany, authorities ordered around 1,800 people to evacuate after a wildfire moved towards the village of Gey, near the Belgian border.
In southwestern France, 525 residents fled a wildfire burning through pine forests in the Landes region. The blaze has destroyed about 1,100 hectares since Thursday and came within two kilometres of Luglon village. Around 500 firefighters and six aircraft were deployed to fight the flames.
Meanwhile, tourists and residents in northern Greece's Halkidiki region were also evacuated after strong winds caused a wildfire to spread rapidly near a holiday resort, damaging homes and surrounding vegetation.
Scientists say extreme heat and severe drought are contributing to the increasing intensity of wildfires across Europe, with France, Spain, Greece and the Balkans among the areas particularly affected by heatwaves this summer.
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