[ad_1]
Greek investigators saw "serious indications" that a forest fire that killed at least 82 people outside Athens was deliberately put in place, said Thursday the Minister of the Interior Nikos Toskas. Fires that erupted in several places during a short time on Monday probably resulted from arson.
"We have serious indications and significant findings of criminal activity regarding arson," Toskas said. "We are troubled by many factors, and there have been physical discoveries that are the subject of an investigation."
The Fire Special Section of the Hellenic Fire Service, which probes all major fires, investigates to determine the exact cause of the fire. . The mayor of the region where he broke out previously said that it could have been sparking from a cut pylon power cable.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.)
The fire broke out near Rafina, northeast of the capital. Attracted by gale force winds, she went through full-time beach resorts and popular vacation homes with Athenians and tourists.
The great extent of the flames complicated the process of identifying the victims. Officials said that there was no way of knowing how many people were there at that time. Thursday afternoon, there were still no official missing.
At the Athens morgue, relatives were informed of the steps to be taken to bring one of the bodies detained to a missing person, including DNA samples and dental records. . Police said that a team specializing in the identification of disaster victims was introduced at the request of firefighters.
"The procedure is difficult, more difficult than that of other mass disasters with which we have treated in the past as a department of forensic medicine." Said the coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias. "Here, the main cause of death was the burn, in most cases the complete burning of the body, so the identification is very difficult. "
The German Federal Criminal Police stated that a team of forensic specialists has arrived in Greece to help the authorities identify the dead. team have tra valiant on major disasters such as the plane crash of Ueberlingen in Switzerland in 2002 and the tsunami in Asia in 2004.
Thanassis Moraitis went to the morgue in search of her 90-year-old mother .
to leave with his mother, his wife and his 19 year old son, but the fire was too fast. They had to abandon the car and started running towards the beach and in the water. Moraitis suffered burns in the leg from the heat of the air. "In the sea, there was a rain of fire, there was smoke, there was a wind of the Force 12", said the 53-year-old man, adding that the boats picked up the family .
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.)
"I have not even had the opportunity to say goodbye to my mother," Moraitis said. Fire Department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said the search for the victims was continuing and would not end until all the buildings were thoroughly investigated. Rescue teams could not enter houses that had not been destroyed and were closed, she said.
In addition to house searches, the Coast Guard and volunteer divers searched the coast and the island. Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Rafina Town Hall to offer all the help they needed.
Hundreds of refugees fled to nearby beaches to escape the ferocious flames and smother the smoke. Dozens spent hours at sea before being supported by Coast Guard vessels, fishing boats and a ferry. A man walks on the beach where burnt trees marry the coast at Mati, east of Athens, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Forest fires raging in popular seaside areas near the capital guns have burned down homes, security forces have killed at least 49 people and at least 49 dead, authorities said Tuesday, saying the bodies of more than 20 people had gathered near a beach . (Photo AP / Thanassis Stavrakis) “/>
