Horrific blazes
Greek authorities believe arson caused fires which killed at least 86.
Authorities in Greece say there are “serious indications” that a fire that killed more than 80 people near Athens this week was started deliberately.
The belief is based on satellite images and ground inspections by police and fire officials at the scene of a deadly blaze that started in the town of Penteli, Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas says.
Some 60 people are still being treated in hospital, 11 in intensive care. Dozens more are missing.
More than 2000 homes were damaged and roughly a quarter of them will have to be demolished, Greek officials said, revealing more about the disaster that has seen the Government face mounting criticism.
As the death toll from the fire reached 86, the Infrastructure Ministry said it has inspected thousands of damaged homes in the fire-hit Rafina area, 30km east of the capital.
Houses considered permanently unsafe were being sprayed with a red X signs, as structural inspections by housing experts were being carried out in parallel with ongoing house searches by rescue crews looking for more victims.
State coroners have completed autopsies on all the bodies recovered so far, increasing the death toll with a grim discovery. Nikos Kara koukis, head of the Athens Forensics Department, said forensic tests have revealed the remains of three extra people.
“There are parts of bones that are attributed to three people, so the number increases to 86,” he said.
It was another indication of the intensity of the fire’s heat, which melted the metal hubcaps of cars as it swept through the pine forested seaside resorts with winds of up to 100km/h.
Germany’s federal criminal police have sent a team of its forensics specialists to help.
Despite the rising death toll, Greek government officials have refused to acknowledge criticism, including claims of poor emergency planning ahead of the country’s annual wildfire season.
On Friday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sought to defuse the mounting criticism of his Government. “I accept full political re-