79 Dead in Deadliest Wildfires to Hit Greece in Decades

The death toll from two big wildfires raging on the outskirts of Athens, Greece, has risen to at least 79, making this fire season the deadliest in decades, a spokesman for the Greek government says.

Fire authorities said Tuesday that at least 156 adults and 16 children have been hospitalized with injuries. Many are in serious condition.

“There was a great panic because the whole street was blocked by cars,” said Theodoros Christopoulos. “Shouting, hysteria, they could see the fire was coming with the wind. It already smelled a lot, the sky was black overhead and in no time at all the fire was here.”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared three days of national mourning Tuesday for those killed by the wildfires.

“Today Greece is mourning, and in memory of those who were lost, we are declaring a three-day period of mourning,” Tsipras said. “But we mustn’t let mourning overwhelm us, because these hours are hours of battle, unity, courage and above all solidarity.”

The two largest wildfires — one 20 miles northeast of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta — broke out Monday during hot, dry summer conditions. Fanned by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, the flames spread rapidly into populated seaside towns — too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee, fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said.

“The police tried to direct us away from the fire, but we couldn’t escape it,” said Aleka Papariga, a former Greek Communist Party leader who lives near Rafina. “We got stuck in traffic and the flames were on top of us. We managed to find a small gap and we made it out.”

Many tourists and residents fled toward the coastline to escape the ferocious flames and choking smoke. Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight, said Merchant Marine deputy minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

Nikos Stavrinidis, his wife and two of their friends were rescued after escaping one of the fires by jumping into the sea near Ravina. They spent two hours being pulled by the strong current before they were rescued.

“It happened very fast. The fire was in the distance, then sparks from the fire reached us. Then the fire was all around us,” he said. “The wind was indescribable — it was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.”

Others did not fare as well. Stavrinidis said they watched as a woman and her son disappeared into the waves.

“It is terrible to see the person next to you drowning and not be able to help him. You can’t,” Stavrinidis said, his voice breaking. “That will stay with me.”

Fire Service spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said three hospitals in greater Athens have been placed on alert to receive more casualties if needed.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia on Monday and returned to Athens to preside over an emergency response meeting with fire chiefs and government officials.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is offering her country’s help to fight the fires.

In a message of condolence sent to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday, Merkel said that “in these difficult hours Germany stands firmly by the side of our Greek friends.”

She added: “You can be sure of our willingness to provide support in coping with the fire disaster.”

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Greece’s coast guard says a search-and-rescue operation is underway for 10 people, believed to be foreign tourists, who fled a massive forest fire in a boat and were missing.

A coast guard helicopter and vessel were searching the sea near the town of Rafina, northeast of the Greek capital of Athens. They acted after receiving notification from Danish authorities, who had received a call from someone in Greece saying they were among a group of 10 people who fled a forest fire in a boat.

The coast guard said it was unclear what type of vessel the 10 people were in.

In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece Monday and early Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said. Ten were still burning late Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

According to EM-DAT, the international disaster database, the deadliest and most expensive wildfire in Greece since 1983 occurred in August 2007 in the southern Peloponnese peninsula. The fire claimed more than 60 lives and incurred the equivalent of $2.1 billion in 2018 dollars.