Greece wildfires: PM Tsipras visits disaster zone amid criticism as death toll rises

Blaze becomes Europe's most deadly for more than a century as survivors hit out at government response

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has visited the site of deadly wildfires outside Athens as criticism mounts over his government’s response to the disaster.

At least 91 people have died in what has become Europe’s deadliest forest fire in more than a century, officials in the country said. As many as 25 people are still unaccounted for.

Mr Tsipras visited the coastal village of Mati, where dozens of people were killed in the worst of the fire, which swept through tourist resorts near the Greek capital after breaking out last week.

“Today, I visited the site of the tragedy. I spoke with citizens, engineers, soldiers, firemen and volunteers,” Mr Tsipras wrote on Twitter after his visit. “Unspeakable grief and infinite respect for all those who waged an uneven battle with the flames, and are now waging the battle of restoration.”

However, some have criticised his government's response to the tragedy.

When defence minister Panos Kammenos visited the area last week, he was heckled by distraught survivors.

Authorities have also come under criticism for how buildings and roads were laid out in the area and an alleged lack of adequate preparation for fire season.

More than 2,000 homes were damaged in the fire and roughly a quarter will have to be demolished, Greek officials said last week.

Mr Tsipras has accepted full political responsibility for the disaster and pledged a series of changes, including a crackdown on illegal and haphazard construction thought to have worsened the blaze.

Rescue crews are still searching for 25 missing people, while the remains of 28 victims have yet to be identified, the Hellenic Fire Service said.

According to records held by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels, the blaze is now the deadliest of its kind in Europe since 1900.

Meanwhile, video has emerged of dozens of people sheltering in the sea as they were driven out of homes and holiday villas in Mati during the height of the blazes.

The vast majority of victims died in the fire itself, though a number drowned in the sea while fleeing the flames.

Dozens of volunteer divers, some of them retired Navy Seals, ventured into the sea again Sunday to look for more bodied of possible victims before bad weather called off the search prematurely.

Greek authorities believe the fire resulted from arson and turned so deadly because winds of up to 62 miles per hour buffeted the pine-forested seaside resorts at the time.

Additional reporting by agencies