Survivors of the wildfires that have killed at least 74 people in Greece have described how they were forced into the sea by a blaze that “struck like a flamethrower”.
“The flames were chasing us all the way to the water,” said one victim.
Meanwhile, the bodies of 26 adults and children who apparently died hugging each other were found close to the sea.
As the search for missing persons continues, a website has been set up to help relatives trace their loved ones.
Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the flames, which have been fanned by winds of up to 60mph (100km/h) and have devastated the seaside village of Mati, engulfing homes and vehicles.
Mati is located in the Rafina region which is popular with local tourists, especially pensioners and children attending holiday camps.
A number of roads and evacuation routes were blocked by fire and footage of motorists escaping the area shows them driving through thick smoke.
Survivors say Greece wildfires "struck like a flamethrower"https://t.co/oxhIy2KSaR pic.twitter.com/SV8j5d2tim
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 24, 2018
One survivor, Nikos Stavrinidis, told ABC News that despite the air-conditioning in his car, he could still feel the heat from outside as he travelled on a highway.
“We were driving along the road going into smoke, then all-of-a-sudden the flames were at the side of the car,” he said, adding: “All the houses on the hill beside the highway were completely burnt out.”
Dimitri Piros, director of medical services for Ekav, Greece’s nationwide ambulance service, told the BBC that people had suffered horrific injuries because of the speed of the fire.
It is Greece’s worst fire disaster since 2007, when dozens of people were killed in the southern Peloponnese peninsula.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has also declared three days of national mourning.
