‘A BIBLICAL DISASTER’
Families die fleeing for safety as wildfires in Greece kill at least 74
SURVIVORS of the wildfires in Greece wept last night as they told how they saw loved ones perish in the tragedy that has claimed at least 74 lives.
Ten victims drowned after a police rescue boat ferrying them away from the blazing holiday resort of Mati capsized.
Witnesses said another 26 people from the same villa burned to death as they huddled together for protection when the flames closed in.
Emergency workers said children – the youngest a six-month-old baby – died and another 23 youngsters were injured.
Foreign Office staff confirmed that a British man with minor burns was among 164 adults being treated in hospital.
US drones were being used to monitor the affected areas either side of Athens last night, amid suspicion that 15 separate fires were started deliberately.
More than 600 firefighters have been battling the blazes. Greece was offered international aid in the form of equipment and personnel.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared three days of mourning, Witness covers her mouth in horror adding: “Greece is going through an unspeakable tragedy.”
Greece’s interior minister Panos Skourletis said it was a “biblical disaster with human losses”.
Fires broke out both east and west of the capital, but worst-hit were the areas around Mati and Rafina, two coastal towns popular with Greek tourists 20 miles east.
Terrified holidaymakers fled towards the shore of the Aegean Sea as flames were fanned by galeforce winds on Monday evening.
Red Cross officials told how they discovered the bodies of 26 people huddled together in a field about 30 yards from Mati beach.
Nikos Oikonomopoulos, head of the charity’s Greek section, said the group looked like a party of tourists who had fled a burnt-out villa nearby. “It seems some of them knew each other because they were found in groups of three or four,” he said.
“We found groups of cars where the keys were left in the ignition, the doors were open and first aid supplies were left on the seats.
“The picture that emerges is that these people abandoned their car en masse and tried to escape on foot. They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn’t make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced.”
The blaze had struck like a “flamethrower”, he said.
Although 700 survivors were rescued from the beaches, tragedy also overcame some of those who had initially escaped the flames.
A Polish mother and son drowned as they boarded a police vessel evacuating hotel guests at Mati.
Janusz Smigielski, of Polish travel agent Grecos, said they were among his clients on holiday in the resort.
He said police were leading guests to a series of launches when one collapsed, killing all 10 passengers.
Nikos Stavrinidi said he watched helplessly as a child died after they sought safety in the waves. He fled his holiday home with other members of his group when the blaze encroached and ended up in the sea. He said: “The fire was in the distance, then sparks from the fire reached us. Then the fire was all around us. We ran to the sea.
“We had to swim out because of the smoke but we couldn’t see where anything was. We didn’t all make it. It is terrible to see the person next to you drowning and not be able to help him.”
Mati resident Kostas Laganos, said: “Flames were chasing us all the way to the water. It burned our backs so we dove into the water. It reminded me of the eruption at Pompeii and I said, ‘My God, we must run to save ourselves and nothing else’. It was terrible.”
The fires were the worst to hit Greece since flames devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula 11 years ago, killing dozens of people.
Smoke rose from smouldering parts of Mati early yesterday, while burned-out cars were scat-
‘Flames chased us all the way to the sea. The fire burned our backs as blaze strikes like flamethrower
tered outside holiday compounds completely gutted by the blaze.
Coastguards said four bodies were retrieved from the sea, while boats plucked another 19 out alive.
One witness said he saw at least four people dead on a road clogged with cars heading to a beach.
Another said: “Mati doesn’t even exist as a settlement any more. I saw corpses, burned-out cars. I feel lucky to be alive.”
A fire brigade spokeswoman said: “Residents and visitors did not escape in time even though they were a few metres from the sea.”
Flames also spread to the west of Athens in Kineta, and to the south of Mati in Rafina.
Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the Rafina-Pikermi area, said he saw “at least 100 homes in flames”, adding: “I saw it with my eyes – it is a real total catastrophe.
“The destruction is biblical. More than a thousand buildings have been burned. I am really worried, I don’t want to imagine we have so many dead. I hope that we won’t reach a three digit number.”
Some survivors blamed the authorities for reacting too slowly and not having a clear plan, despite Greece suffering regular wildfires.
One said: “This is why people got burned. Nobody was warned.
“We experienced the fire from the first moment we heard about it.
“It was not huge. It needed two hours to get to the sea.
“They are lying when they say it reached the shore in half an hour. There was time but there was no plan, not even an escape plan.
“We saved ourselves in the last moment.” She added: “The clamour from the fire was deafening.
“Most of the houses of Mati have been burned. There was no escape plan. Nobody seemed to care.”
Pensioners from Neos Voutzas, a village near Mati, told how they just survived but saw their friends die.
One woman said she heard a girl calling for help and turned to see her covered with flames. She tried to save herself by jumping off a cliff 45ft into the sea, but she hit rocks and died.
Cyprus, Italy, Croatia and Portugal were among countries who responded to Greece’s appeal for help.
Spain sent two amphibious planes, each capable of carrying five tons of water and flown by airforce pilots.
Greek authorities also accepted the offer of an unmanned US drone to investigate reports of arson.
French President Emmanuel Macron sent his country’s condolences, adding: “Our thoughts go to Greece and the victims of the terrible fires. France and Europe express their solidarity.”