The number of Greek forest fire victims reaches 91 as a distressed village

MATI, Greece – Fire officials in Greece raised to 91 the number of victims of a fire that ravaged a coastal area in the east of Athens and reported that 25 people were killed. Missing Sunday, six days after the deadliest forest fire in Europe for over a century.

Before the National Fire Service updated the official death toll, it was 86 dead.

The village of Mati, a popular holiday resort, was burned down without warning on July 23. A database maintained by the Center for Research on Disaster Epidemiology in Brussels

The vast majority of victims died in the fire although a number of them drowned in the sea as they fled the flames. Until Sunday evening, the Greek authorities had not provided a count of missing persons.

Hellenic fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri provided a breakdown that illustrated why the death toll continued to rise and the list of missing persons

Malliri said that on Sunday evening, 59 victims had been identified on bodies or remains and that four other people injured in the fire had died in hospitals in the area. But identities have not yet been linked to 28 other sets of remains, she said.

Relatives or friends reported that 25 people were officially missing, said Malliri. people could be among the still unidentified remains of the dead. The official asked anonymity because the fire is still under investigation.

Bishop Kyrillos, a senior official of the local Greek Orthodox Church, said the community was mourning the simultaneous loss of his family, neighbors and friends. 19659004] "We are less numerous today than usually," said the bishop. "It's the victims of the recent fire that we miss – friends, relatives and acquaintances, people on the other side that we see every day in the city and on the beach."

Local resident Angeliki Galiatsatou said that she fire that killed others in their cars and their homes.