Greek authorities lost in red tape over fire evacuation drill

Greece has a civil protection plan. But the long document was virtually worthless on Monday as a killer fire burnt at least 83 people to death.

With an investigation on the causes of the blaze ongoing, witnesses, firemen and mayors agree on one thing: There was no evacuation order. But they cannot agree on who should have made the call.

"The church bells didn't ring, the sirens didn't go off, no one alerted us," Phoebe Angelopoulos told Alpha TV.

"No alert, there was nothing, nothing, nothing," an elderly survivor said.

It remains a riddle why authorities did not order anyone out of the small town east of Athens that turned into a death trap for dozens of people on Monday evening.

Most people involved said there was no time for coordinated action. One government official put the wind speed at 120 kph (75 mph). Experienced firemen said there was roughly...