Athens - Five people were reported dead and another three missing from an explosion at a shipyard near Athens, reports said Friday.

The blast occurred during repairs on a Panamanian-flagged Friendship Gas tanker at the Perama shipyard, located just west of the Greek capital.

The Ministry of Merchant Marine said rescue crews were still searching the ship for three more people believed to be trapped inside.

Officials said another four people were injured in the blast which occurred in the late hours Thursday.

Athens - Firefighters battled to contain a forest fire that has been burning out of control on the Greek island of Rhodes for the third straight day, forcing the evacuation of at least two villages, reports said Thursday.

Authorities declared a disaster on the island, where dozens of homes have been burned and at least 2,500 acres of forest destroyed.

At least two mountain villages in the region of Laerma have been evacuated after the fire began destroying homes.

A number of other fires which blazed throughout the night in the Varymbobi area, approximately 20 kilometres from Athens, and in Mani in the southern Peloponnese were brought under control on Thursday.

Athens - A 20-year-old British woman has been charged with causing the death of her newborn baby soon after she gave birth alone in a hotel room on the holiday island of Crete, reports said Wednesday.

A Greek prosecutor charged the woman with strangling her newborn son late Tuesday night. A coroner said the baby appeared to have been suffocated.

Under Greek law the woman could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The suspect remains hospitalised under police guard in the capital city of Iraklion where she is being treated for severe blood loss after giving birth early on Monday.

Athens - Two ferries collided as they were trying to anchor in the port of Andros on Wednesday, slightly injuring three people, reports said.

Athens - Hundreds of firefighters, assisted by dozens of planes and helicopters battled to contain forest fires that raged out of control along the outskirts of the Greek capital on Wednesday.

More than 25 fire engines and a handful of planes and helicopters were trying to extinguish the blaze near the industrial town of Aspropyrgos, approximately 20 kilometers west of Athens, reports said.

Firefighting officials said the fire in Aspropygos may have been set off accidently by a gypsy camp which normally burns tyres and plastic coated cables which they sell for scrap.

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