23h46 – Athens caught in fire belt, at least six dead and 25 wounded

At least six people, according to the emergency services and an AFP photographer, died Monday in fires that continued to ravage the surrounding areas of Athens in the night, injuring 25 people and arousing a call for help. help from Athens to its European partners.

Shortly before midnight, an AFP photographer first discovered three and then a fourth charred body under a car and a motorbike near the locality of Mati, about forty km east of Athens, victims seemingly trapped trying to flee.

Two people died earlier when they were transferred to hospitals, public television quoted Ert as saying, citing emergency services in the capital, Ekav. These services also revised the number of seriously injured out of a total of 25 hospitalized persons to eight

Late in the night, the authorities were working to evacuate the inhabitants of the coast between the localities of Mati and Rafina, where a number of people have fled to the beaches near the flames.

The port police said they found at sea near Rafina two Danish tourists from a group of ten, who had fled by boat, and continue his research of the rest of the group.

Five military boats and port police were involved in these regroupment and evacuation operations, said the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Yannis Kapakis.

– 'Extreme Situation' –

"It's time to fight the flames," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after presiding over a crisis meeting. "The night will be difficult".

It has "more than 600" firefighters deployed on the three fronts left in the day, two of which continued to grow, around Rafina and some 55 km west of the capital, near the locality from Kinetta, along the highway leading to the Corinth Cbad.

But the night interrupted air operations, carried out earlier by eight planes and nine helicopters

According to Mr. Kapakis, the fires were fanned during the day by winds up to more than 100 km / h , creating an "extreme situation"

M. Tsipras cut short a move to Mostar, Bosnia, to return to coordinate operations.

Athens has also activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism to request reinforcements from its partners, and Cyprus and Spain have already offered badistance, according to Kapakis.

Before dark, televisions showed residents fleeing by car, surrounded by flames, and many damaged buildings.

"If I had not left, I would have burned," said Maria, a 67-year-old resident of Mati, who was on the phone by AFP. Failing to find them in time, she had to abandon her two dogs to take refuge in a nearby town.

– Suspicions of Crime –

Above Kinetta, "there was damage, houses and cars burned," said Megara Mayor Grigoris Stamoulis. Three subdivisions, mostly second homes, were evacuated and the municipality opened premises to accommodate their inhabitants.

The affected areas were covered with thick clouds of smoke, also covering the skies of the capital, while road traffic and power supply were disrupted.

"I am concerned about the outbreak of these outbreaks in parallel," Tsipras also said. Deputy Minister of the Interior Nikos Toskas had earlier suggested that the fires could be of criminal origin.

The fires took place as a heatwave hit the country, with temperatures climbing to 40 degrees Celsius.

According to the weather services, the conditions must remain difficult Tuesday.

Forest fires and maquis are recurrent in Greece in summer, especially in the green areas surrounding the capital. The last most devastating fires for the country occurred in 2007 in the Peloponnese and on the island of Evia, killing 77 people and ravaging 250,000 hectares of forests, maquis and crops.