Greece wildfires kill elderly couple as Belgium battles largest blaze in modern history

An elderly couple have died in a wildfire on the Greek island of Salamis as a wave of fires continues to sweep across parts of Europe amid intense heat.

Greece's coastguard said the couple died outside their home in the Peristeria beach area on Sunday. More than 500 people were ordered to evacuate.

In Spain, a soldier also died while helping battle a week-long wildfire in the north-eastern region of Aragon, where flames have threatened a 1,000-year-old monastery.

Belgium is meanwhile battling what officials have described as the largest wildfire in the country's modern history. The blaze in the High Fens nature reserve had burned around 3,000 hectares by Sunday and was approaching the German border.

Around 600 residents of Waimes and Bütgenbach were told to evacuate as shifting winds spread smoke.

More than 250 firefighters and emergency workers, supported by German crews, helicopters and Swedish water-bombing aircraft, have been deployed.

“On this third day of fighting the fires, all resources remain mobilised on the ground,” Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin wrote on X.