ATHENS (Reuters) -Firefighters battled on Monday to put out wildfires in three separate provinces of Turkey, in Greece and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region.

In Turkey, three volunteer firefighters were killed when their vehicle overturned near Bursa, and at least 17 people have died in fires since late June.View on euronews

Greece and Turkey continue to battle major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures reached 42.4C in central Greece at the weekend, with emergency services battling fires in the Peloponnese area of Athens and on the popular tourist islands of Kytheria and Crete.

Mr Yumakli said Turkey broke an all-time temperature record on Friday of 50.5C in the southeastern city of Sirnak. Information published by the country’s General Directorate of Meteorology suggested that temperatures would rise by another 10 degrees from Saturday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations.

Firefighters battled to put out wildfires on Monday in three separate provinces in Turkey and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region.