Greek PM takes responsibility for wildfire

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has taken political responsibility on Friday for a year in which he has been accused of accusations that the government has failed to protect lives.

Tsipras' opponents went on the offensive on Friday mourning ended, accusing the government of failing to apologize for the disaster.

Seeking to deflect public anger, Tsipras told ministers he had been in a state of conflict.

"I have called you here today," said he, "in the front of my cabinet and the Greek people.

"I will not hide that I am overwhelmed by mixed feelings right now … Bread, devastation for the human lives unexpectedly and unfairly lost. But we must be sure that we have done it right now. "

Tsipras' contrition comes after the hand of opposition New Democracy party criticized a government news conference on Thursday night.

"This government has just added unbridled cheek to its abject failure in protecting lives and people's property," said New Democracy spokeswoman Maria Spyraki.

Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas told the news that the government was arrested Monday night's blaze, which trapped dozens of people in their cars trying to escape a wall of flames.

Survivors of one of the worst Greek disasters in living memory, which hit the town of Mati, some 30 km (17 miles) east of Athens on Monday, heckled Tsipras' coalition partner, saying they had been left to fend for themselves .

Pressure is growing on the government, which is trailing the New Democracy in public opinion polls, at a time when it was hoped to finally extricate Greece.

Tsipras now faces the questions of how to get a better deal.

Tsipras had not been seen in public since Tuesday, when he declared the three days of national mourning for the dead.

Politicians' criticism reflected anger among the survivors. "They left us alone to burn mice," Chryssa, one of the survivors in Mati, told Skai television. "

Toskas said he had offered his resignation but Tsipras rejected it.

Fofi Gennimata, who leads the socialist PASOK party, said the government carried a huge political responsibility.

"Why did not they protect the people who have been threatened?" She said.

"NO MORE TRAGEDIES"

The government has announced a long list of relief measures including a one-off 10,000 euro ($ 11,600) payment for families of the victims. Their spouses and near relatives were also offered public sector jobs.

But many felt that it was not enough to ease the burden of devastation.

About 300 fire fighters and volunteers were still struggling on Friday. More than 500 homes were destroyed by the blaze.

Haphazard and unlicensed building, a feature of many areas across Greece, was also blamed. Many roads to the beach were walled off.

Civil Protection Service "To guarantee … that there will be no more tragedies."

Mortuary staff in Athens, shocked at the sight of burnt bodies including children, were expected to post-mortem conclusion on Friday.

The fire broke out on Monday at 4:57 pm and spread rapidly through Mati, which is popular with local tourists.

Firefighters described a rapid change in the direction of the wind, which has also suggested speeding up the rate of decline.

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