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Death toll from Greece's deadliest fire rises to 93
[DAWN] The corpse count from Greece's deadliest fire disaster rose to 93 on Thursday after two more people died in hospital.The latest casualty was a 78-year-old woman, state TV ERT said. An 83-year-old man died on Wednesday. Another 34 people are still hospitalised after the July 23 wildfire in the coastal resort of Mati, six of them at death's door. Four bigwigs including the minister responsible for the police and the heads of the police and fire brigade have been removed from their posts. Earlier Thursday, a list compiled by the civil protection authority said the victims included 44 women ‐ now 45 ‐ 35 men, 11 children and two still-unidentified persons. The government had insisted that with winds blowing at speeds of up to 120 kilometres an hour, there was little time to mount an effective evacuation. It later emerged that the police had failed to properly seal off the area because the fire brigade had not alerted them to the location and size of the blaze. As a result, many drivers were inadvertently diverted into Mati's narrow streets and trapped. Posted by: Fred 2018-08-10 |
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