"An airman injured on August 25 whilst helping firemen fight a blaze in Kalyvia near Athens died in a military hospital this morning," a fire brigade press officer said.

"He had burns on 70 percent of his body," the officer said.

The remnants of the blaze that began on August 24, and mainly raged in the Peloponnese peninsula south of Athens, continued to smoulder Wednesday in 11 locations including the Ionian island of Zakynthos.

Another blaze that broke out Wednesday in the region of Messinia in the Peloponnese was not threatening inhabited areas, the fire brigade said.

The fire wave, the third this summer following a series of heatwaves, has destroyed over 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of forest and other land.

Fallout from the inferno could influence the outcome of early elections which the government called for September 16 before the last wave of destructive fires broke out.

The opposition Socialists (PASOK) have roundly attacked the government's handling of the fires. Before the tragedy the ruling party had appeared set for an easy electoral win.

The government has blamed arson for at least some of the fires.

The Greek economy ministry estimates the fires caused damage of around 1.6 billion euros (2.2 billion dollars). The European Commission has said the EU could pay up to 600 million euros in aid this year to help Greece recover.