Greek forensics experts work on identifying dead from fire, put toll at 86

The head of the Athens Forensics Department says all autopsies on the dozens of people who died in Greece's deadliest wildfire in decades have been completed, although the identification process continues.

Nikos Karakoukis said coroners had completed autopsies on 86 bodies. It was the first indication the death toll had increased, as the official figure provided by the fire service still stood at 83.

Many of the dead were burned beyond recognition and the identification procedure, relying on DNA samples from relatives, is expected to take several days to be completed.

Germany's federal criminal police has sent a team of its forensics specialists to help in the process. The team members have worked on major disasters, including the 2004 Asian tsunami and a 2002 midair collision of a Russian charter flight and a DHL cargo plane over southern Germany that killed...

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