Athens-Patras, the holiday highway has turned into an inferno of fire and smoke. The sudden rush of fires that surround the capital of Athena in Greece has already caused at least 74 deaths - but it is feared that the final count could exceed 100 - 26 have been found in a villa, the village of Mati, loved by the Athenians, on the sea, practically p been cancelled. This is the tragic balance sheet of the wave of fire that has developed in the pine forests near the capital but also in other areas of the territory, so much so as to force the premier Alexandris Tsipras to return urgently from a state trip and to request the help from the EU. According to the Red Cross, the number of wounded reached 556 and among these, 23 children are in serious condition.
“I've seen dead bodies, burned cars, I feel lucky to be alive. Mati no longer even exists as a settlement." It is the testimony of a woman who survived the fires on Greek TV Skai, taken up by the international media. Mati is a coastal resort town in the Rafina region, about 40 km northeast of Athens. Here there are the largest number of victims, who died in their homes or in their cars. Elsewhere, tourists flee as in the Corinth area, where fires have forced firefighters to evacuate the residential areas of Zemeno and Throfari. Smaller fires have also broken out in Aghios Haralambos, Ano Kalamaki, Galota and Isthmia, also near the Corinth Canal, but they are all under control.
Tsipras has also advanced the hypothesis that the fires are arson in nature. Meanwhile, many countries have already responded to his appeal: after the request for aid, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, France, Cyprus and Spain have sent Canadair planes, vehicles and firefighters.
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Deeply shocked by the deaths of so many people in the fires in #Greece. Italy is gathering around the Greek population and has already taken action by making two Canadairs available.
— GiuseppeConte (@GiuseppeConteIT) July 24 2018
Nos pensées vont à la Grèce et aux victims des terribles incendies. En Suède comme en Grèce, la France et l'Europe sont solidaires et apportent leur aide.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 24 2018
(Last update: 9.50 am on 25 July)
