Croatia on Friday sent a firefighting plane to Greece to help in putting out disastrous wildfires that have spread despite efforts by local firefighters, reaching Athens.

The Defence Ministry said a Croatian Air Force Canadair CL-415 plane with nine crew on board left for Greece around 2pm.

The ministry made the decision on the deployment of aircraft following consultations with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and based on a request from Greece.

Another Croatian Air Force crew is in Turkey, helping put out wildfires in that country.