The number of missing people from Monday’s deadly wildfire at the coastal Mati settlement in east Attica prefecture is 25, according to the fire brigade on Sunday, while the death toll has risen to 91.
The fatalities elevate the catastrophe as the worst wildfire that has struck modern Greece, in terms of loss of life.
While top government ministers and even the prime minister appeared live on primetime broadcasts to hint at arson as the probable cause, while at the same time pointing to the effect that very gusty winds had on accelerating the speed of the blaze – which traveled from west to east – press reports that surfaced over the past 48 hours blamed a 65-year-old local man who attempted to burn brushwood as the culprit.
The death toll rose on Sunday as four seriously burned people died while being treated at local hospitals.
Efforts to locate the missing persons, especially in the burned areas, is continuing.
