Fire evacuates 70 holidaymakers from Greek beach

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek rescue boats and fire fighters evacuated about 70 holidaymakers trapped on a beach on the Ioanian island of Zakynthos as a fire raged nearby, the merchant marine ministry said Sunday.

Three coastguard boats carried around 20 people, mainly women and children, to safety on board a bigger vessel, while dozens of fire fighters opened the way through the flames for the rest to return to their cars.

"We rescued them," said a merchant marine ministry official who declined to be named. "We transferred 20 people on a vessel and fire fighters helped the rest walk through the fire."

The official said no injuries or breathing problems had been reported although there was thick smoke in the area.

Nine fire trucks and 30 fire fighters battled the blaze for more than three hours. The cause of the fire was unknown.

Forest fires, mostly triggered by high temperatures, drought or arson, are frequent in Greece during the summer.

More than 320 fires have burnt large swathes of forest land across the country this week, so far without any loss of life or damage to homes.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou, editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)