Greece's worst wildfires in a decade rage near Athens

25 July,2018 07:57 AM IST |  Mati  |  Agencies

The inferno was by far Greece's worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens

Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the blazes and the authorities are seeking international assistance. Pic/AFP


Wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town killed at least 74 people, officials said, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The inferno was by far Greece's worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati on Monday and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, who had apparently hugged each other as they died, near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach. "They had tried to find an escape route, but unfortunately they didn't make it. Seeing the end nearing, they embraced," Nikos Economopoulos, head of Red Cross said.

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