Athens - An emergency evacuation operation was underway on Tuesday to evacuate hundreds of tourists from a luxury resort on the Greek island of Evia as a forest fire quickly gained momentum due to gale-force winds.

Coast guard officials were organising the mass evacuation by sea of more than 600 tourists and staff staying at the luxury resort Club Mediterranee with the help of six vessels as flames gathered dangerously close to the hotel located near the town of Lihada.

The fire was reportedly quickly spreading due to gale-force winds.

Eight water-carrying planes, two helicopters, 23 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were attempting to extinguish the blaze despite blinding smoke and wind.

The fire broke out in the early hours Tuesday due to faulty electrical wires on the island's main power station. Fire-fighting officials had reportedly extinguished the flame only for it to re- ignite four hours later, fanned by the winds.

"I don't know who gave the orders to leave the area because the fire was not extinguished properly and re-ignited on two fronts," said the mayor of Lihada, Stathis Karanikolas.

Forest fires have become more frequent in Greece in recent summers, triggered by high temperatures and drought but also arson.

In late August, wildfires burned for days through suburbs north of the Greek capital Athens, destroying homes, tens of thousands of acres of forest and forcing thousands to flee in nighttime evacuations.(dpa)