Death Toll From Greek Wildfire Reaches 91 As Village Grieves
Source: Associated Press
1 hour ago.
MATI, Greece (AP) — Fire officials in Greece raised the death toll from a wildfire that raged through a coastal area east of Athens to 91 and reported that 25 people were missing Sunday, six days after Europe's deadliest forest fire in more than a century.
Before the national fire service updated the official number of fatalities, it stood at 86 as hundreds of mourners attended a Sunday morning memorial service for the victims in the seaside village hardest-hit by the blaze.
The fire sped flames through the village of Mati without warning on July 23. A database maintained by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels shows it as the deadliest wildfire in Europe since 1900.
The vast majority of victims died in the fire itself, though a number drowned in the sea while fleeing the flames. Until Sunday night, Greek officials had not provided a tally of the people reported missing... More..
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/death-toll-from-greek-wildfire-reaches-91-as-village-grieves/ar-BBLcpUG?li=BBnbcA1
Dozens of volunteer divers, some of them retired Navy Seals, kept searching the sea off Mati on Sunday looking for the bodies of more possible victims.
Greek authorities have said they have reason to believe the fire resulted from arson and turned so deadly because winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) buffeted the pine-forested seaside resorts at the time.
The Greek government also has come under criticism for how buildings and roads were laid out in the area and an alleged lack of adequate preparation for fire season. More than 2,000 homes were damaged in the fire and roughly a quarter will have to be demolished, Greek officials said Friday.
Orthodox faithful attend a memorial service for the victims of a forest fire, inside a church at Mati village, east of Athens, Sunday, July 29, 2018. Hundreds of worshippers attended a memorial service in Mati for the dozens who perished in a wildfire that devastated the seaside resort. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
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