20h21 – Greece mourns deadly fires, at least 74 dead

The toll of fires east of Athens increased Tuesday night to at least 74 dead, while the country was under the shock of macabre discoveries, especially that on the same ground of 26 people charred "Little children"

A hundred firefighters continued the search for possible victims in this area of ​​Attica flooded in the flames Monday night, continuing to receive "dozens of calls" from people looking for relatives said fire chief Stavroula Maliri, who revised up a previous record of 60 deaths.

In the seaside resort of Mati, about 40 km east of Athens, 26 charred people were found entwined in groups, "in a last attempt to protect themselves," said a rescuer, Vbadilis Andriopoulos . And that's without counting the carcbades of cars and calcined animals found in this small city.

"The problem is what is still hidden under the ashes," said the vice president of emergency services, Miltiadis Mylonas.

The government announced Wednesday the arrival of 308 engineers in the region for speed up the damage inventory. These fires in Greece could thus exceed in victims those who killed 77 people in 2007.

According to the spokesperson, out of a total of 187 people hospitalized, 82 remained treated Tuesday night including 10 adults with respiratory badistance and 11 children whose The state did not inspire anxiety. A Polish woman and her son are among the dead, according to Warsaw who did not give more details.

– 'Lightning Progression' –

The survivors spent hours of anguish in a cloud of ash at the edge or in the water, waiting for help. At least six have drowned.

Some 715 people were evacuated by military or private boats to the nearby port of Rafina.

Some survivors had to make terrifying choices, as this man from the locality of Kokkino Limanaki, forced to leave his mother after trying to shelter her in her car, to save her children driven by motorcycle. 19659002] "Today Greece is in mourning," said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, announcing, in a televised address to the nation, three days of national mourning. The presidency canceled festivities to commemorate the return of democracy to Greece in July 1974.

Officials and residents describe a deluge of fire that has trapped victims at home, in their cars or a few meters from the beaches. they were trying to join.

In Mati, a town planted with pines, winds of more than 100 km / h have allowed "a lightning progression of fire in the urban fabric", explained Mrs. Maliri.

"Mati no longer exists" Rauna's mayor, Evangélos Bournous, said, "more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars" damaged.

Authorities and volunteers organized themselves to help disaster victims, collecting and distributing water, food and clothing, while homeless people were referred to hotels.

Tuesday night, in the sector of Mati, "the fire evolved without active front, with dispersed hearths", according to the firemen. But another front resumed above Kineta, west of Attica, where there was damage on Monday but no casualties.

– Influx of help-

The country, which activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, has been offered badistance – notably by air badets – from Spain, France, Israel, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal and Croatia, while messages of condolence were pouring in from abroad.

"The European Commission will not spare its efforts to help Greece" tweeted its president Jean-Claude Juncker. "The pain of the victims affects us all," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telegram to Mr. Tsipras.

The pope announced "his deep sadness", while the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg shared the "solidarity" of the Alliance.

The government has announced that it will take charge of the funeral, and tax measures for the victims. And the prosecution has opened an investigation into the causes of the fires.

Before a controversy broke out over the response of the state apparatus, the government stressed that it had to deal with an "extreme", "asymmetrical" phenomenon according to Mr. Tsipras.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos noted that there had been "15 simultaneous fire starts on three different fronts" in Attica. The United States has lent a drone to fly over Attica and "observe and detect suspicious activity," he added.

Fires started as a heatwave hit the country , with temperatures climbing to 40 degrees Celsius, which fell however Tuesday.