The worst forest fires in Greece in over a decade have killed 80 people and destroyed thousands of houses in the Marathon district near Athens, spread by gale-force winds of up to 120 km/h that can change direction unexpectedly, the Guardian reports.
Efforts to rescue survivors and locate dozens of missing persons have intensified as Greece has received help and resources from several countries in the region. Ilias Psinakis, the mayor of Marathon, has said that the number of victims would certainly rise as emergency services are dealing with hundreds of calls about missing people, though no official number has been released.
Forensic experts are having a hard time identifying the dead as most of their bodies have been badly charred. Of the survivors, at least nine people were in intensive care and 11 children have been taken to hospitals.
Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images/Reuters