Heatwave fires LIVE: Tourist hotspots including Crete and Turkey suffer apocalyptic blazes

Large parts of Turkey and Crete are facing down an overnight inferno (July 2), as raging wildfires threaten to engulf popular tourist areas in the Mediterranean.

Izmir and the surrounding areas in western Turkey, dotted with the coastal resorts that many Brits flock to each summer, has been blanketed with evacuation orders affecting thousands of residents while fire crews attempt to control the growing inferno that has already destroyed over 100 homes.

Turkish firefighters are deploying air and ground units through the night to try and hold back the flames, with images from Izmir showing apocalyptic scenes of devastation and fire as far as the eye can see in the acrid smoke now covering these destinations.

In Crete, videos taken from offshore show blazes burning across the eastern portion of the Greek island, where many residents on Tuesday night had to be evacuated from beaches due to the inferno's rapid spread.

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