A blaze in eastern Belgium burned about 30 sq km in the High Fens, a large nature reserve, in one of the country's worst wildfires in recent history.

About 600 residents in the nearby municipalities of Waimes and Butgenbach, in Liege province near the German border, were told to evacuate on Saturday as winds shifted and smoke spread through the area. Authorities also advised tourists to leave, while a nearby gymnasium was opened to receive evacuees.

Liege provincial governor Herve Jamar said in a statement Sunday that more than 250 emergency personnel have been deployed, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, as well as police and military officers and civil protection staff. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium''s federal police and the Netherlands also helped.

In Greece, two people were killed in a wildfire Sunday on the island of Salamina, west of Athens.

The bodies were recovered in the village of Peristeria, where strong winds fueled the rapidly spreading blaze. A second blaze was reported in the Selini area. Firefighting and coast guard vessels evacuated some 500 beachgoers in the area.