Conflagration

With criticism mounting against the government over its response, or lack thereof, to last week's devastating wildfire, Citizens' Protection Minister Nikos Toskas insisted that "no operational mistakes were made."

Firefighters search for missing people Friday as a woman holds flowers next to the spot where a six-month-old baby died during the wildfire that ravaged Mati, a seaside resort east of Athens, on Monday. The death toll from the conflagration rose to 87 Friday, but it could rise further, according to authorities. The government's response has failed to dampen anger among the survivors.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday called an emergency meeting of his cabinet later in the day to discuss the wildfires that have claimed more than 80 lives in Attica.

The cabinet meeting takes place amid growing calls from the opposition for the leftist-led government to step down.

With the death toll from Monday's devastating fire in eastern Attica climbing to at least 85 Thursday and with dozens still missing, authorities appeared intent on convincing people that the disaster was not preventable.

Dozens of victims from the east Attica wildfires remained unidentified on Friday as the majority were burned beyond recognition, making it that much harder for authorities to pin down the exact number of people missing from Monday's deadly disaster.

The search for dozens of missing people after the huge fire near Athens. Yesterday, rescuers roamed the beaches in search of survivors. The victims of the fire are now 81, and nearly 190 are in the hospital. Among them is a Bulgarian woman, Nova TV reported.

In the fire, hundreds of cars and more than 1,500 houses were burned. Assistance is provided to everyone left homeless.

In a scorched and blackened pine forest, Dionysis Tsiroglou and his team of volunteer rescuers are searching homes ravaged by Greece's deadliest wildfire, looking for the missing.

"Their relatives are asking us to move mountains - 'I want my aunt, I want my uncle, my son, my daughter, my father, my mother'," he said.

The European flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels were flying at half-mast on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims of the devastating wildfires that hit Greece this week.

"We stand with the Greek people in solidarity at this difficult time," the Commission said in a tweet.

A massive effort was under way on Tuesday to extinguish the most disastrous wildfires Attica has seen in decades, with the official death toll at 74 though rescue workers warned that this number would rise as dozens of people remained unaccounted for and 11 in intensive care. 

Italy is offering two Canadair aircraft to help Greece battle wildfires that have killed dozens of people near Athens.

Premier Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday tweeted Italy's support for Greece and condolences for those who have died. He announced Italy was making the two water-dropping aircraft available.