Fire in Greece: Government suspects arson

Devastating forest fires in Greece, with at least 82 deaths, may be the result of arson. Satellite imagery and field investigations indicate several parallel fires

According to a Greek government politician, fires in the Athens area could be the work of incendiaries. "There are indications that lead us to these thoughts," said Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Toskas.

At a press conference, he presented satellite images suggesting the arson of the first large fire zone.

Also fatal fires

In East Athens, where more than 83 people died, the fire spread rapidly due to high winds. "There are not only indications, but also signs of arson," Toskas said. He did not want to give details. He did not want to interfere with the investigation. The arrests of suspects did not exist so far. In Greece, forest fires are more often attributed to the machinations of land speculators.

The Minister's appearance with firefighters and police representatives created confusion: previously, the mayor of a community whose devastating fires had followed the course claimed to have seen an electrical cord ripped out of the terrain of his community. stole the spark. This triggered the catastrophic fire in the east of Athens

Many missing persons

With firefighting planes, firefighters largely controlled the fires in Greece. Many people are still missing. The search swept the houses as the Coast Guard swept the waters near the most affected areas.

"We have taken DNA samples from all the relatives of the victims and the missing and we will have identification results in the coming days" Iliad Bojiokas on TV. Most corpses are "charred" in his words. That's why DNA tests are needed. The police badume that it is only after the identification of the corpses that the exact number of missing persons will be clarified. [1965] 013 Thousands of houses destroyed

The material damage is significant: according to an initial badessment, 2489 houses were audited, Of these, 1218 are uninhabitable. The controls will continue in the coming days. Thousands of homes still need to be inspected, according to local authorities in the affected areas.

The government led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced Wednesday night a number of aids for the victims and their families. Among other things, one-time support of up to 6,000 euros, two special pensions for pensioners and tax breaks were decided. Later, there will be cheap loans for rebuilding destroyed homes. A special account for donations has been established.

With information from Michael Lehmann, ARD studio Athens