Gran Canaria hit by wildfires with hundreds evacuated & flights at risk as flames threaten air traffic control radars

WILDFIRES have broken out on the Spanish holiday isle of Gran Canaria as blazes continue around Europe.

Flights from the Atlantic island were put at risk as flames came within metres of antennae on a mountain top that are used by the island's air traffic control.

Authorities said fires had spread rapidly across the Tejeda area of the island.

Hundreds of villagers were evacuated from their homes, with multiple roads closed.

Helicopters were deployed in a bid to bring blazes under control.

Around 700 acres of land have been effected by flames, reports.

Antonio Morales, head of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, said about 100 firefighters and nine aircraft were working to put out the blaze.

But the wildfires had not reached any tourist areas and no hotels had been affected.

Wildfires on the island are not uncommon, and in 2019 two large blazes devastated large areas.

Cops are investigating a 29-year-old man they suspect may have started the wildfire in Tejeda.

He and three colleagues were working with bush cutters in an area of dry grass when flames broke out, reports .

The holiday hotspot in the Canary Islands is the latest popular destination to suffer fires, after a prolonged heatwave created tinderbox conditions across much of southern Europe.

In Greece, a state of emergency has been declared for the island of Rhodes as blazes continue.

Wildfires have swept through parts of Greece for eight days - with the worst in Rhodes and Corfu, where thousands have fled the flames and Brit families have been forced to abandon holidays.

And authorities have today warned six new regions in Greece face "extreme danger" of fresh wildfires.

In the last 24 hours, at least 53 new fires have sprung up in Greece.

It comes as...

• State of emergency declared in Rhodes
• Travel companies forced to cancel flights
• Defiant couple to fly to Corfu despite fires
• Inside devastated hotel in Rhodes
• Greece hols warning over 46C 'heat blast'
• Two dead as plane battling fires crashes

But there is set to be some welcome respite as the high temperatures are predicted to "drop significantly" by up to eight degrees on Thursday.

Wildfires have also hit the Italian island of Sicily and Turkish seaside resort Kemer as well as areas of Switzerland, Portugal and Malta.

Weather experts have declared 2023 an El Niño year - a natural phenomenon that occurs cyclically and causes fluctuations in the global climate.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said it will raise temperatures around the world, and the effect is likely to continue for the rest of the year.

And despite the heat this summer, Europe's record temperature of 48.8C - recorded in 2021 in Sicily - has not been reached and is currently not forecast to be broken.