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Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory
ATHENS, July 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Greece was counting the cost Thursday
of its deadliest wildfires in living memory, as emergency crews searched
incinerated homes and vehicles for the missing after at least 81 people were
confirmed to have died.
Firefighters were still dealing with pockets of flames from the
unprecedented outbreak around Athens as the government — which has come in
for heavy criticism following the disaster — announced a raft of measures to
compensate those affected.
The fires, which broke out on Monday, struck coastal villages popular with
holidaymakers and burned with such ferocity that most people fled to the
safety of the sea with just the clothes on their backs.
Survivors spoke of harrowing scenes including entire families burned alive
in their homes.
One resident of Mati, the village worst affected, described it as “a night
of hell”.
A fire service spokesman told AFP on Thursday that a blaze near Kineta, 25
kilometres (15 miles) west of Athens, was largely being managed, though it
was still working to extinguish pockets of flames.
There was still no official word on the number of people missing after the
catastrophe, but the death toll of 81 already makes this Greece’s worst fire
outbreak in decades.
Among those killed was a newly married Irishman who had been on honeymoon
in Mati when his car was caught in the wildfires. Although his wife Zoe
managed to escape to a nearby beach, she was taken to hospital with burns,
according to British media.
An emergency services spokeswoman said firefighters were still searching
for people reported missing by their relatives.
She added that relatives of those missing had been asked to provide DNA
samples to help authorities identify bodies.
A website set up by residents lists 27 people still unaccounted for,
including a pair of nine-year-old twin girls.
– ‘Absolve government sins’ –
When the fires broke out on Monday evening, terrified residents and
tourists were overtaken by the flames in homes, on foot or in their cars. AFP
photographers saw the burnt bodies of people and dogs.
Some 187 people were hospitalised, with 71 still being treated as of
Wednesday evening, including almost a dozen children, most of whom were in a
“serious condition”, the fire services said.
In addition to 10,000 euros to the immediate relatives of someone who died,
the government said it would provide 5,000 euros per property affected.
Initial reports suggest at least 300 homes were destroyed or badly damaged
in the fires.
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced a relief fund open to
donations worth an initial 40 million ($47 million) euros to help affected
areas.
But the measures did little to assuage public anger over how such a
disaster could happen just a few kilometres from Athens.
The opposition daily Ta Nea accused Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’
administration of seeking “absolution for its sins” with the compensation
package.
The mass-selling Kathimerini published details of what it said was a
chaotic meeting held in April to discuss fire prevention in the region.
“Instead of organising the fight against fires, the municipalities,
prefectures, fire services and foresters fought with each other,” it said.
The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have also seen
blazes cause widespread damage in recent days.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1422 hrs