Greece: Divers recover body offshore of where wildfire raged

A research vessel equipped with specialized sonar and a remotely operated underwater vehicle also was deployed, while dozens of civilian and retired naval divers have joined the search as volunteers.

Fanned by high winds, the blaze gutted seaside resorts where many Athens residents and retirees have holiday homes. The high death toll has prompted criticism of the government over the absence of access roads, warning systems and other civil protection measures in residential areas surrounded by forest and at high risk of wildfires.

More than 500 people gathered outside Greece’s parliament late Monday to attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of the wildfire.

Earlier, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited Mati, the worst-affected area, tweeting that he spoke with “citizens, engineers, soldiers, firefighters and volunteers.” His office released photos, and the prime minister took along a camera from state-run television. No other media was alerted.

A government spokesman said more than 3,500 homes had been damaged in the deadly blaze and a second fire near Athens, with more than 1,000 of the affected structures considered uninhabitable and slated for demolition.

“The fire burned through 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) in 90 minutes in an area where 20,000 people were present, so in those conditions is was not possible to have a fully organized evacuation effort,” the spokesman, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, said.

The government plans to reorganize its Civil Protection Authority with advice from experts from other European Union countries, Tzanakopoulos said without giving details.

Greece has received emergency support from the EU, along with Sweden and Latvia, to battle forest fires.

Christos Stylianides, the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said climate change was considered to be a key factor in the growing number of devastating forest fires around Europe.

“Climate change is real. It’s not fake news….The glaring example is the fires in Sweden,” he told Athens daily newspaper Kathimerini in an interview.

But referring to the Greek fire, he added: “To have so many casualties from a fire of such limited size may indicate shortcomings in prevention and preparedness.”

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Gatopoulos reported from Athens. Follow Becatoros at http://www.twitter.com/ElenaBec and Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos

Elena Becatoros And Derek Gatopoulos, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Greece: Divers recover body offshore of where wildfire raged

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