German disaster experts helping ID fire victims

Germany's federal criminal police department says a team of its forensics specialists is in Greece to help officials there identify victims from this week's deadly forest fires.

The team includes veterans of such major disasters as the 2002 mid-air plane crash over Ueberlingen, Germany that killed 71 people and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed at least 225,000 across multiple Asian countries.

The chief coroner in Athens says the task of identifying victims is difficult because most of the bodies at the morgue were severely burned.

Another complicating factor is wind-whipped flames raced through a large area. Authorities are working to put together a complete list of those missing. [AP]
 

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