At least 49 dead and 172 wounded by forest fires in Greece

At least 49 dead leave the serious forest fires that have devastated the northeast coast of Athens (Greece) since Monday, while the wounded number 172 according to the latest badessment of the Civil Protection, which warned

According to the emergency department, 11 wounded are in critical condition and it is feared that the number of deaths is even greater because they receive many wounded. calls from people notifying missing relatives

All victims were found in the area between the port of Rafina, about 30 kilometers from Athens, and Nea Makri located about 10 kilometers away away

Most of the deceased were trapped by flames in their homes or cars or attempted to flee the fire by going to sea but it ended up drowning [19659002Aspokesmanfor Red Cross stated in statements on public television ERT that after finding 24 dead in different parts of the area, the Firefighters found this morning a group of 26 dead in a field located in the small town of Mati, in the area mentioned.

According to firefighters, currently still three fires are in progress in the capital region of Attica but there are also important fronts in other parts of the country. countries, especially in the Corinth region, in the Peloponnese, as well as on the island of Crete.

The extinction continued throughout the night but was hampered by high winds that reached force seven on the Beaufort scale.

After the authorities declared the state of emergency and request for international badistance the spokesman of the government, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, announced that Tuesday will arrive from Australia with the extinction planes, as well as volunteers from Cyprus.

] three main fronts – east of Attica, the Kineta region in the west of this region as well as in Corinth and Crete, six helicopters and three planes, as well as hundreds of firefighters with landmines. [19659002] According to the mayor of Rafina, Evánguelos Burnús at least 500 houses and 200 vehicles were damaged to a greater or lesser extent by the flames.

Burnús stated in statements to ERT that yesterday's sea evacuation operation continues and that Coast Guard boats continue to displace many residents of Rafina to other security zones.