Mati

The wounds from last summer's deadly wildfires in eastern Attica are still very fresh. We can still hear the echoes of ministers' promises to bring out the demolition crews to tear down illegal structures on the country's coasts like those that contributed to the loss of life in the seaside town of Mati.

It would be entirely unreasonable not to seek out responsibilities for the death of 100 people in last summer's disastrous Mati wildfire.

The families of three more victims of last summer's devastating wildfires east of Athens have filed lawsuits against the Greek state, the Attica Regional Authority and the Marathon Municipality.

A few days after an independent committee of experts issued a damning report on the state's response to wildfires over the years, Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis suggested that last summer's disastrous fires in eastern Attica should be the focus of a parliamentary investigation. 

A day after an independent committee of experts issued a damning report on the state's response to wildfires over the years, a retired fire service officer who compiled a separate report into last summer's disastrous fire in eastern Attica said the committee should have focused on the causes of the July blaze which killed 100 people. 

The three foreign fishermen lauded for their heroic efforts to save dozens of people during the deadly wildfire in east Attica last summer were officially sworn in as Greek citizens in a ceremony at the interior ministry on Thursday.

The relatives of a victim of July's devastating fires in eastern Attica on Thursday lodged a legal suit, seeking 1.45 million euros in damages in the first appeal for compensation from the state for emotional distress.

In their lawsuit, the relatives point to "criminal omissions" by the Greek state, the Regional Authority of Attica and the Municipality of Marathon.

Three migrant fishermen who helped rescue dozens of people from the sea during the deadly wildfire near Athens last summer are to be made Greek citizens.

The three migrants, two Egyptians and one Albanian, will be granted citizenship during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday in recognition of their actions.

Spyros Spyridis clung to life for 145 days at the Greek capital's Evangelismos Hospital, battling injuries sustained in Mati, the area worst hit by last July's deadly fires in eastern Attica. The 73-year-old's first surgery lasted eight hours, but the skin grafts didn't take.

The death toll from the disastrous July 23 fires in eastern Attica rose to 100 on Saturday after a 73-year-old burn victim passed away.

The man had been in intensive care at the capital's Evangelismos Hospital for burns sustained in the blaze at Mati, the coastal settlement that was the worst hit by the summer fires.