Athens forest fire threat over

Greek firefighters have extinguished a big forest fire less than four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the new Olympic village in Athens.

It took more than four hours to control the blaze that left one dead and destroyed more than a dozen houses.

The Olympic village - which was built to house athletes during the August games - was never in danger, the firefighters said.

The cause of the fire that swept over the foot of Mount Parnis was not known.

Earlier this week, the Greek civil defence agency warned of possible wildfires near Athens and parts of central Greece due to soaring temperatures and strong winds.

Crews would remain in the area until Thursday because of fears the strong winds could rekindle the flames, the local deputy fire chief was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

More than 200 firefighters were called in to tackle the fire, while helicopters and firefighting planes had sprayed water on the blaze.