Deadly fire ‘deliberately lit’, says minister

Greece has “serious indications” a fire that has killed at least 83 people near Athens was started deliberately, citizen protection minister Nikos Toskas has said.

The blaze broke out on Monday.

About 60 people are still being treated in hospital, with 11 in intensive care. Dozens remain missing.

Frantic relatives headed to Athens’ morgue yesterday, searching for loved ones missing in Greece’s deadliest forest fire in decades as rescue crews and volunteers continued the hunt on land and at sea for potential victims.

Many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Those arriving at the morgue were being informed of the necessary steps to match the missing and the dead, including providing DNA samples and dental records.

Police said a team specialising in the identification of disaster victims had been activated.

Coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias said: “The procedure is difficult, harder than that of other mass disasters.”