More than 20 people have died as several wildfires rage near Athens, Greece, according to a government spokesman.

Over 100 people have been injured in the blazes, which are burning in three main fronts in the Attica region, including one which is currently out of control near the seaside resort area of Mati Beach.

“Attica is facing a very difficult night. The combination of intense winds and multiple parallel fronts has created an unprecedented extent and difficulty for firefighters,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said in a briefing late Monday.

The Attica region, which has a population of around 3.5 million people, is home to the Greek capital Athens, the port of Piraeus and a number of suburban towns.

The fires forced Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras to fly back early from a state visit to Bosnia. He has urged citizens to forget their property and focus on survival.

“Everyone should keep their temper and take care to protect the most precious good that is human life,” he said.

“Property, all that has a material value, (can be) recreated. Human lives are the ones that cannot come back.”

So far Spain and Cyprus have offered assistance, and Greece has called on other fellow EU members to help battle the blaze.

Much of Europe has been baking under a massive high-pressure ridge that is allowing tropical heat to climb all the way to the Arctic.

Temperatures above 32˚C extended to the northern reaches of Scandinavia, setting records in Sweden, Finland and Norway for stations above the Arctic Circle.

The result has been a string of unprecedented wildfires in Sweden that have prompted the country to request assistance from other nations such as Italy, with more resources to fight wildfires.

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