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LAST UPDATE | 25 Jul 2018
AT LEAST 79 people have died in huge wildfires around Athens, Greek authorities said today, as rescuers scoured scorched homes and burned-out cars for survivors of one of the world’s deadliest fire outbreaks.
Among the dead is an Irishman, Brian O’Callaghan-Westropp.
Scores of locals and holidaymakers fled to the sea to try to escape the flames as they tore through towns and villages near the capital stoked by 100-kilometre-per-hour wind gusts, devouring woodland and hundreds of buildings.
Greek media have described the disaster as a “national tragedy”, while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia and announced three days of national mourning.
Spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said authorities knew of “79 dead”, surpassing the 77 people killed in the previous deadliest fires in Greece, on the southern island of Evia in 2007.
“We’ve received numerous calls reporting people missing,” Maliri said.
The public ERT television station reported that an elderly man hurt in the fires had also died, though there was no immediate official confirmation.
A fire service official said that searches to find those missing in the fires would continue today, although there was still no official word on the number of people unaccounted for.
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.
“My husband said we had to leave with our seven-year-old grandson,” Kiriaki Alexiadou, a resident of the devastated village of Mati, told AFP.
“We ran to the car as the pine cones were burning on the trees.”
Choking back the tears on Wednesday, she pointed to the charred skeleton of a house next to hers.
“The policewoman who lived there, her husband and their two children left on foot towards the sea but they were trapped by this wall of flame.”
The burned bodies of 26 people, including small children, were discovered at a villa in Mati, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Athens, rescuers said.
Rescue teams on Wednesday were going house to house to search for survivors in the village.
Rain forecast
Volunteers were also doing the rounds to provide food to those whose houses survived relatively unscathed but which have experienced sporadic power cuts since the fire struck.
“In 40 years here we’ve seen several fires each year” in the hills where Monday’s blaze broke out said resident Andreas Matsios. “But we never imagined they would ever reach Mati.”
Rain is forecast for the coming days, which will help efforts to douse the flames after temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius on Monday.
But another blaze was threatening houses near the seaside town of Kineta, 25 kilometres west of Athens.
Dozens of firefighters were battling the flames around Kineta aided by helicopters and planes dropping thousands of gallons of water.
Some 187 people were hospitalised after Monday’s fires, with 71 still being treated today, including almost a dozen children, most of whom were in a “serious condition”, the fire services said.
Shock was giving way to public anger Wednesday, with several media questioning how such a devastating blaze could have hit a country well used to wildfires.
The opposition Te Nea daily criticised the government’s “inability to protext its citizens just a few kilometres from Athens”.
The front page of the Ethnos newspaper showed a charred Greek flag with the headline: “Armageddon.”
Tsipras chaired a meeting of his emergency management committee on Wednesday though no statement was issued.
‘It hurt to breathe’
At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea, where some 715 people were evacuated by boat, the government said.
“There was at least 300 of us. The worst thing was the smoke, it hurt to breathe,” said Mati resident Sabi Kissov.
The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism after Greece sought help. Several countries said they were sending aircraft to help fight the flames.
“Today is a day of great sorrow for the Greek people and for all of Europe,” The EU’s humanitarian crisis manager Christos Stylianides said on Twitter.
The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have also seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, while not going into specifics of any case, has said it is providing consular assistance to a number of individuals in Greece at the present time.
The Department also updated its travel advice for Irish citizens travelling to Greece, and said that those affected by the fires can contact the Irish Embassy in Athens on 0030 210 723 2771.
RIP, can’t wait for 2016 to end ….
Legend. .R.I.P Rick… the opening rif to Caroline respect..
R.I.P Rick ..Rool Over Lay Down
RI.P.Rick ..Roll Over Lay Down
@829nza:R.I.P Rick ..Roll over Lay Down.
@829nza: R.I.P Rick ..Roll Over Lay Down
Totally agree with you friend. It’s been truly awful. I loved the quo.
@Steve Austin: One more song… One more song!
Sorry for multiple comments. .Journal App took a figaire
Why cant a bunch of politicians be taken instead?
@829nza: Feck off 2016, just feck off why don’t you.
“Rocking all over the world” adored that song,i think they opened up live aid in 1985 with that song. RIP another one gone
Christ. Not another one. RIP
Ah here 2016 would you ever fukk off with yourself & do something useful & go after Beiber or Kanye.
I don’t get why people would wish others would die instead . Beiber is a young lad with his life ahead of him and kanye has a couple young kids . I don’t like either of them but I would wish them dead ..
*Wouldn’t *
Thoughts and prayers are with his family, another star gone from our sky’s tonight
Saw Status Quo at Wembley Stadium in 1986. Queen headlined with The Alarm and INXS also. They were great craic live and had us all head banging even though most of us there for Queen. Thanks for the great memories.
Another victim of 2016…vicious. RIP
He’s in the army with the great up above
RIP. His guitar intro to Caroline was always sensational and wrote some beautiful songs for Quo like Living on an Island. A true rocker.
R.I.P.
A true rock and roller, not like our two best known sanctimonious hypocrites.
That’s no way to speak about Foster and Alan
Matt Donovan I couldn’t agree with you more.
The coke finaly took its toll .
This is not the time or place to get on your high horse about sugary drinks.
Status Quo brought fun to Rock RIP Rick
Very sad..
Prince might teach him a forth chord. RIP
His family were considering cremating him, but decided to bury him down, down, deeper and down.
Gutted. If there is a heaven he’ll be seeing his little Heidi again. Her death at two years old in the swimming pool really knocked him. He was one of the nicest, gentlest, funniest guys in the business. God’s band is about to rock. RIP Rick. Let ‘em’ ave it.
RIP to a legend. I loved Yellow Brick Road
Eff you, 2016. Eff you in the A
@Daisy Chai NSaw: Pop stars are starting to enter old age, so 2017 will probably be just as bad.
@Eamon. You hit the nail on the head there. A lot of the rock stars of the 60s and 70s are getting old, many in there 70s now. It’s kind of inevitable that, because of the lives of excess they lived in their hay day, that it’s taking its toll now. RIP Rick, one of my favourite Status Quo songs is “Mystery Song” which has Rick on lead vocal. Just gave it a blast a few mins ago, still sounds great.
R.I.P Rick… Rool Over Lay Down
2016 isn’t finished yet. Glad to see the back of it given the loss of so many legends. RIP Rick.
God, I think you got your take and not to take list mixed up.
have your say