Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory

Greece was counting the cost Thursday (Jul 26) of its deadliest wildfires in living memory, as emergency crews searched incinerated homes and vehicles for the missing after at least 81 people were confirmed to have died.

An aerial view of the destruction the wildfire wreaked in the village of Mati, near Athens. (Photo: AFP/Savvas Karmaniolas)

Firefighters were still dealing with pockets of flames from the unprecedented outbreak around Athens as the government -- which has come in for heavy criticism following the disaster - announced a raft of measures to compensate those affected.

The fires, which broke out on Monday, struck coastal villages popular with holidaymakers and burned with such ferocity that most people fled to the safety of the sea with just the clothes on their backs.

Survivors spoke of harrowing scenes including entire families burned alive in their homes.

Firefighters from Cyprus took a break from fighting a wildfire at the village of Kineta, near Athens. (Photo: AFP/Valerie Gache)

One resident of Mati, the village worst affected, described it as "a night of hell".

A fire service spokesman told AFP on Thursday that a blaze near Kineta, 25km west of Athens, was largely being managed, though it was still working to extinguish pockets of flames.

There was still no official word on the number of people missing after the catastrophe, but the death toll of 81 already makes this Greece's worst fire outbreak in decades.

Among those killed was a newly married Irishman who had been on honeymoon in Mati when his car was caught in the wildfires. Although his wife Zoe managed to escape to a nearby beach, she was taken to hospital with burns, according to British media.

An emergency services spokeswoman said firefighters were still searching for people reported missing by their relatives.

She added that relatives of those missing had been asked to provide DNA samples to help authorities identify bodies.

A website set up by residents lists 27 people still unaccounted for, including a pair of nine-year-old twin girls.

Some 187 people were hospitalised, with 71 still being treated as of Wednesday evening, including almost a dozen children, most of whom were in a "serious condition", the fire services said.

In addition to 10,000 euros to the immediate relatives of someone who died, the government said it would provide 5,000 euros per property affected.

A chronology of the deadliest forest fires. (Graphic: AFP/Alain Bommenel)

Initial reports suggest at least 300 homes were destroyed or badly damaged in the fires.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced a relief fund open to donations worth an initial 40 million euros (USD 47 million) to help affected areas.

The wildfires come as record temperatures in northern Europe have also seen blazes cause widespread damage in recent days./.

VNF/AFP