Greece mourns as frightful forest fires kill 74

An aerial view shows houses burned as a result of a fire in the village of Mati, near Athens, July 24, 2018. Fatal fires killed 74 people in Greece, devouring homes and forests as terrified residents fled to escape the flames. , the authorities said. AFP

ATHENS, GREECE – Greece was in mourning on Tuesday after some of the worst fires of this century, with fears that the toll – at least 74 dead and 187 injured so far – could increase, while rescuers are looking for people trapped in their homes. The fires, which erupted Monday afternoon, devoured homes and forests, forcing terrified residents to flee into the sea for safety, while pine forests were burned to the ground and charred cars lined the smoky streets. . "Today, Greece is in mourning," said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who cut short a visit to Bosnia and announced three days of national mourning.

The Greek media described the disaster as "The government has not yet said how many people were missing."

But the death toll could exceed that of the flames that hit the city. Greek island of Euboea, in southern Greece, in 2007, where 77 people died. [19659003Suruntotalof187patientshospitalized82detalsofunedizeandchildrenwerestillcoveredbytheirboth10wereina"seriouscondition"accordingtothefireservices

A Belgian was one of the victims Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said in Warsaw that a Polish woman and her son have also died.

Dozens of people have been overrun by flames in their homes, on foot or in their car The burned bodies of 26 people, including young children, were found in a villa in the resort of Mati, 4 0 kilometers northeast of Athens, said the lifeguard Vassilis. Andriopoulos

They were grouped into small groups, "maybe families, friends or strangers, intermingled in one last attempt to protect themselves while they were trying to reach the sea."

Vice President of Emergency Services Miltiadis Mylonas said 308 engineers would arrive Wednesday to assess the damage. "The problem is what is still hidden under the ashes," said Vice President of Emergency Services Miltiadis Mylonas

. "I saw the fire go down the hill around 6 pm and five or ten minutes later it was in my garden," police said. – Athanasia Oktapodi

His house is surrounded by dry pines.

"They caught fire, I ran like crazy, I went to the beach and put my head in the water."

The resort " No longer exists »

Fire Department spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said firefighters were still looking for more casualties and" dozens of calls. "Winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour to Mati caused a "sudden advance of fire" in the village, said Maliri.

"Mati no longer exists", said the mayor of Rafina, Evangelos Bournous, adding that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged.

"I saw the flames outside the window of our hotel. I thought it would explode, "said Alina Marzin, a 20-year-old German tourist who was staying Monday at the Hotel Capo Verde in Mati with her brother and her parents.

At least six people died trying to escape the flames in the sea. Some 715 people were evacuated by boat to Rafina, the government said.

"People are shocked, lost, some of them have lost everything: children, parents, homes," said spokeswoman for the Red Cross, Georgia Trisbioti

L & # 39; European Union activated its civil protection mechanism after Greece asked for help Several countries said they were sending planes to help fight the flames

The head of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted that the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people." The NATO leader, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed his solidarity with Greece, whose government has granted financial assistance to the families of the victims.

40 ° heat

The Minister of the Interior, Panos Skourletis, said: The priority was to extinguish a fire that was still burning in Kineta , 50 kilometers from Athens

Near the city of Marathon, residents on fled safely along the beach, while 600 children were evacuated from summer camps

. "I am really concerned about the parallel outbreak of these fires," Tsipras told the Supreme Court. the rosecutors announced that they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire

The showers were to drop slightly after reaching 40 degrees Celsius (1965 degrees).

Sweden, which has experienced unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century, has recorded more than 20 fires across the country.

Fires also hit the northernmost province of Lapland. 19659003] Norway, which experienced its hottest temperatures in May, experienced several small fires. A firefighter was killed on July 15 trying to contain a fire.

Fires raged for five days in Latvia, destroying more than 1,000 hectares in the Baltic state. / cbb

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