Wildfire in southern Greece leaves two people dead

Two people have died in a large wildfire burning through forest land in Greece, near a seaside resort in the country's south.

The fire service said about 350 firefighters, assisted by 18 water-dropping aircraft, managed to largely bring the blaze near Xylokastro in the Peloponnese region under control early on Monday.

Scattered fires burned in the area but the initial large front had been put out, officials said.

Half a dozen villages were ordered evacuated overnight as a precaution after the blaze broke out on Sunday.

There was no threat to Xylokastro. The flames were fanned by very strong winds blowing through forests left tinder-dry by a warm spring and hot summer attributed to climate change.

Authorities said the two dead men were believed to be local residents who were declared missing late Sunday. No one else was reported missing.

There were no immediate reports of burned homes in the affected area, 150km southwest of Greece's capital, Athens.

Another wildfire near Andravida, in the western Peloponnese was also brought under control on Monday, but firefighters remained on alert in the area for flare-ups, the fire service said.

Greece, like other southern European countries, is plagued by destructive wildfires every summer that have been exacerbated by global warming.

In the past few months, authorities have had to cope with more than 4500 wildfires in countryside left parched by a protracted drought and early summer heatwaves, in what was considered the most dangerous fire season in two decades.

A big investment in extra water-bombing aircraft, warning drones and other equipment have enabled firefighters to extinguished most blazes shortly after they broke out.

However, in August, a ferocious wildfire swept through the mountains north of Athens, destroying scores of homes and killing one person.

Still, authorities say this summer's expanses that have been burned are 25 per cent less in size than the annual average of the past 20 years.