At Least 50 Killed And Over Hundred Injured In The Worst Wildfire In Athens, Greece
- The worst wildfire of the decade hit the Greece capital Athens, killing at least 50 and injuring over 100.
- Death toll rose to 50 on Tuesday morning after 26 bodies were recovered from Rafina.
- Mati, which is situated 18 miles east of Athens, has been totally destroyed by the fire.
- The firefighters are still trying to take the blazes under control where the winds of around 50 mph speed have been creating difficulties the firefighter.
At least 50 people lost their lives and hundreds more injured in Athens as the worst Greek wildfire in a decade continues to spread over the capital.
The death toll rose to 50 all of a sudden on Tuesday after the firefighters found 26 corpses near the harbor town of Rafina. The blazes have majorly hit the Rafina and Mati villages of Athens.
ABC reported two major blazes have been burning at either side of Athens, prompting the residents to flee the area as soon as possible. Authorities said hundreds of firefighters have been fighting to take the blazes under control.
Mati village, situated at 18 miles east of the country capital, is heavily affected by the fire which the officials called "worst" since the blazes devastated the Peloponnese peninsula in 2007.
A woman, who successfully fled the Mati village told Greece's Skai TV,
Mati doesn't even exist as a settlement anymore. I saw corpses, burned-out cars. I feel lucky to be alive.
Dozen more people scrambled into the nearby ocean as the fire reached near the shore; the people were later picked by the patrol boats, military vessels, and some private boats.
Rafina Mayor, Evangelous Bournous told the reporters,
We are unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such a force that it razed the coastal area in minutes.
He added,
It took people by surprise and the events happened very fast. Also, the fires broke out on many fronts, so all these factors made the situation extremely difficult. The task we face now is organizing the identification of victims by members of their families.
Meanwhile, Greece government issued an urgent appeal to its European Union partners for help to tackle the uncontrolled fire across the town. Cyprus and Spain offered their a s sistance where Cyprus has already sent fire engines and personnel.
The first major blaze broke out in a pine forest of Kineta, 30 miles west of Athens, where at least 220 firefighters, five water-dropping planes, and 7 helicopters were working to take the fire under control.
The second blaze broke out on Monday afternoon in the northeast areas on Athens including Rafina and Penteli and the fire kept on burning in Rafina throughout Monday destroying several homes and vehicles.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their residence; however, no official figures are showing the overall number of people were shifted.
