Greece wildfires - LIVE: Death toll rises to 74 amid huge blazes outside Athens

Dozens dead in Greece wildfires

At least 74 people are thought to have been killed by a series of wildfires that have spread through tourist resorts close to the Greek capital Athens.

Witnesses have reported whole towns have been razed to the ground by the blaze, thought to be the country's most deadly fire in more than a decade.

Authorities believe dozens are dead, including 26 people found across just two villas in the village of Mati by Greek Red Cross relief workers.

More than 100 others have been reported injured while fleeing the fires, including 11 understood to be in a serious condition.

Follow our live updates for all the latest news from Athens:

Key Points

• At least 74 people are confirmed dead in fires near Greek capital
• Blazes have swept through several resorts popular with tourists
• Prime minister Alexis Tsipras announces three days of national mourning
• More than 150 injured people being treated in hospitals

[24 July 2018 16:28 · Tom Barnes]

Pedro Martins, manager of Greece’s most-successful football team Olympiacos, which is based in the city of Piraeus around 20 miles from where fires are currently raging, has paid tribute to the efforts of emergency crews.

[24 July 2018 16:42 · Adam Withnall]

The Associated Press have filed a report on a group of friends caught up in the wildfires:

The fire came suddenly, and the group of friends ran. When they reached the beach and there was nowhere more to run, they swam into the ocean, choking and blinded by the smoke and pulled by the strong current.  The same winds that fanned the flamed had whipped up the seas, and soon they lost sight of the shore and became disoriented.  For two hours the group struggled to stay afloat, until salvation came in the form of a fishing boat and its Egyptian crew. Nikos Stavrinidis was pulled to safety. So was his wife and two of their friends.  But two more — a woman and her son — had 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."  The couple had gone to the Greek port of Rafina to prepare their summer home for their daughter, who planned to visit for the summer, when they were caught up in Greece's deadliest wildfires in more than a decade.  "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."  And so they ran, making their way toward the beach, but even that wasn't safe.  "We ran to the sea. We had to swim out because of the smoke, but we couldn't see where anything was," he said.  The current was strong and the smoke blinding, and the friends fought to stay afloat.  "We fell into the sea and tried to distance ourselves, to get away from the carbon dioxide. We went as far in as we could," he said. "But as we went further, there was a lot of wind and a lot of current and it started taking us away from the coast. We were not able to see where we were."  Stavrinidis credited the crew of the fishing boat for saving the surviving friends.  "They jumped into the sea with their clothes still on," he said. "They made us tea and kept us warm. They were great." 

[24 July 2018 16:44 · Tom Barnes]

Aerial images emerging from Mati, one of the areas worst-affected by the wildfires, appear to show large areas of the resort have been razed to the ground.

[24 July 2018 16:57 · Tom Barnes]

This map shows exactly where deadly wildfires have burning in Greece over the past 24 hours.

[24 July 2018 17:26 · Adam Withnall]

A reporter on the ground in Greece has shared some shocking images of the devastation today.

[24 July 2018 17:30 · Adam Withnall]

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands have issued a statement: “The raging forest fires in Greece have claimed many victims. We feel enormous sympathy for the victims, their families and those who do not yet know the fate of their loved ones. We share their pain, and our thoughts are with them.”

[24 July 2018 17:57 · Adam Withnall]

An update on the day's events so far:

Wildfires raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital of Athens, torching homes, cars and forests as they killed at least 74 people, authorities said Tuesday. 

Twenty-six of the dead were found huddled together in a compound, while a few bodies were recovered from the sea where they had fled to escape the flames and smoke. 

Greece endures wildfires every summer but the fires that broke out Monday were the deadliest to hit the country in decades. Fueled by gale-force winds, they trapped hundreds of people on beaches, roads and in homes. 

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared three days of national mourning. There were fears the death toll could rise even further, as there was no definitive count of how many people were missing. 

Although the fires had largely abated by Tuesday afternoon, they were far from out. 

Hundreds of firefighters aided by water-dropping aircraft were tackling the remaining areas in the two main blazes near the capital. One was northeast of Athens near Rafina, where most of the casualties appeared to have occurred, while the other was about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Athens, where some flare-ups were reported Tuesday afternoon. 

Four other fires were burning in other parts of the country, including near Corinth and on the island of Crete. 

[24 July 2018 18:24 · Adam Withnall]

A GoFundMe page has been launched by actor Melia Kreiling to help the many victims of the Greece Wildfires. 

"I have set up this campaign in response to the tragic aftermath of the Athens wildfires yesterday," she writes on the site. "As a half-Greek/ half-American who grew up in Athens, Greece, the devastating events in my hometown made me feel utterly useless being so far away and unable to volunteer in-person.

"I am SO lucky that my friends and family are now all safe and accounted for, there were terrifying hours when we were not sure, as one of the biggest wildfires happened to be right in the heart of a place we call home. Others have not been so lucky. Hundreds are suffering from severe burn wounds and are in critical care. The deathcount keeps rising. The details are horrifying." 

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