A small fire-fighting plane, known as an “air tractor”, made a forced landing on Monday afternoon in a field near the south-central city of Thebes. The pilot was unhurt, according to reports.

The plane was part of a major fire-fighting effort to extinguish a wildfire at the Platanakis site in Viotia (Boetia) prefecture, with another three planes and a helicopter operating.

The blaze, according to reports, began from a warehouse where propellant power and chemicals were stored, leading to a heightened state of emergency and response. It was burning late into the evening amid brushland.

Meanwhile, a high state of alert for wildfires will be in place for roughly half of Greece on Tuesday, due to high temperatures and dry conditions. The higher state of alert is in place for much of the south-central mainland, the greater Athens-Piraeus area and the Peloponnese.