At least 60 people died and 172 were injured – they are in critical condition – in fires that occurred since Monday in a coastal area north-east of Athens, where there are still many missing .
The ravenous fires that ravaged the suburbs of Athens suddenly increased after the discovery of 26 charred bodies in a house in Mati, East of Attica.
According to this still provisional report, at least 172 people were injured, including 11
The fires devastated houses, forced the evacuation of several cities and led the authorities to declare the state of Emergency and to ask for European help. One of the deceased was found charred inside his vehicle at Mati, in eastern Attica, as confirmed by Miltiadis Mylonás, vice president of the EKAV ambulance agency.
The bodies of the victims found in a house were hugged and charred, according to an AFP photographer on Tuesday morning. Apparently, they have not managed to reach the sea which is very close to the fire, estimated firefighters after reporting that the fire had calmed down in Attica but in Kineta, about 50 km west of Athens, was still very active. Forests cause at least 6 deaths in Greece Forest fires kill several people in Greece
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday announced his return to Greece from Bosnia and Herzegovina to to put in place measures of response to the situation of the Unified Coordination Center of Eleusis and expressed its wish that, despite the climatic conditions, the various outbreaks scattered throughout the country could be controlled.
For his part, the Minister of Public Order, Nikos Toskas, asked the citizens to be cautious and suggested that the fires could have been caused.
Throughout the day, firefighters from across the country moved to try to control the seven fires (three of them in Athens) that spread rapidly through winds forts up to seven in the Beaufort scale
Fires in Greece. Three of the centers are in the country's capital: Athens.
Dozens of homes were burned to ashes.
Fires spread rapidly by the force of the wind
Fires in Greece
One of them, originally from Athens about fifty kilometers away, causes the evacuation of three cities where it has reduced dozens of homes to ashes and the closure of traffic on seventeen kilometers from the Olympia Highway, which connects the capital in the Peloponnese, to avoid that drivers are trapped because the flames are very close to the asphalt. In addition, at least 40 transformers and three medium voltage lines were affected, which caused power outages in areas near the fire, according to the Greek Electricity Distribution Network (DEDDHE).
Another, in the east of Attica, was left trapped on a beach surrounded by flames by several bathers and drivers who were able to park in time. According to the coastguards confirmed at Efe, on the beaches of this area, several people have thrown themselves into the sea in panic and, although fifteen have already been saved, others are still missing, as eight Danish tourists who are supposed to drift in a boat.
A helicopter rescued two Danes who were swimming in the sea, while a ferry first saved a family, a couple with three children, and then seven other people. According to police estimates quoted by Greek public television ERT, about 300 people are trapped in their homes in several cities in East of Attica. In addition, the summer camps for children of the municipality of Atenas, an orphanage and two military bases were evacuated.
