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Updated
July 27, 2018 07:26:53
It is suspected that a devastating forest fire killed at least 83 people and turned the small town of Mati to the east of Athens into a desert of death and destruction, according to the Greek Government
Key Points:
- The Minister of Civil Protection says "serious indications" of arson
- Unlicensed buildings are also accused of disaster [19659007] Locals Face Defense Minister While Visiting Devastated Regions
"We have serious indications and significant signs suggesting the criminal actions of arson," said the Minister of Civil Protection, Nikos Toskas, at a press conference.
He said that the police had evidence to this effect, but did not elaborate.
Reports indicated that the police were studying how the fire started from three different locations at the same time. The time of a second major fire in the west of the Greek capital
With the record of the most deadly forest fires in Greece, firefighters and volunteers continued to comb dozens of people.
In a country numb by the scale of the devastation, desperate parents appeared on television to ask for information about the missing, while questions were raised about how people were trapped and why no evacuation order was issued. "People have died for no reason," shouted a tearful woman to Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, as he was visiting the city and the fire-ravaged areas
"You left us at the thank you for God. " Raise his hand as he discusses with the Greek Minister of Defense. "title =" Greek Defense Minister launches fire-ravaged town "width =" 700 "height =" 467 "/>
Photo:
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos was confronted by angry residents while visiting fire-ravaged areas. (AP: Thanbadis Stavrakis)
A woman was still looking for her sister.
"Nothing happened to her car, the house was not burned, so where is she?" Maria Sarieva says, "I believe it's alive, where are they, where did they go, where could they be?"
"Urban chaos" also blamed
Haphazard and unlicensed building – a feature known to many regions across Greece – was also blamed for contributing to death.
Many roads to the beach were walled up
"How is it possible to lose so many lives and not to investigate? Chaos?" The Minister of Infrastructure, Christos Spirtzis, adds:
Adding to misery, an area of Athens was hit by sudden floods Thursday, damaging dozens of cars
. "It is a difficult process, more difficult than the other mbad disasters we have faced," said coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias, adding that the bodies of most of the victims had been completely charred. .
About 500 homes were destroyed, and firefighters said that there were houses that had not been checked yet.
The left-wing government has announced a long list of aid measures including a single sum of 10,000 euros a payment and a job in the public sector for spouses of victims and close relatives
But for many it was not enough to relieve the pain.
"A drop in the ocean", read the first page of the newspaper Ta Nea.
The Fiesta broke out Monday at 4:57 pm (local time) and spread rapidly to Mati, which is about 30 kilometers east of Athens and is popular with tourists local.
Firefighters described a rapid change in wind direction. They also noticed that the thick pine cover and the panic atmosphere were a deadly combination that would have been hard to fight.
Reuters
Topics:
fires,
disasters and accidents,
emergency incidents,
Greece
Published
July 27, 2018 07:14:52
