After wildfires struck coastal resorts and suburbs around Athens, the images of the destruction show the trail of devastation and death left behind. The world is understandably shocked. But fires – albeit smaller ones and with fewer deaths than on this occasion – are quite regular and seen as an unpleasant yet predictable summer occurrence in Greece. These fires have generally been treated with resignation, and ultimately one has now led to huge disaster. The following offers a glimpse into a very Greek tragedy. Greece, despite being a European Union member state and a developed economy, exhibits many of the institutional deficiencies and cultural traits found in less developed nations. A large, centrally controlled state can be a source of secure employment (as in Greece), yet is often grossly inefficient. Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Show all 30 1 /30 Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A house threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta AFP/Getty Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog Reuters Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A helicopter flies over a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina, near Athens REUTERS Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens An aerial view shows burnt houses following a wildfire in the village of Mati AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Firefighters, soldiers and local residents carry a hose as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina REUTERS Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A man walks on the beach where burned trees hug the coastline in Mati east of Athens AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens People bring supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Firefighters carry a dead person AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks to the media during his visit to the fire brigade's operational center in Athens EPA Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens An aerial view of a burnt urban area following fire in Kineta Hellenic Ministry of Defence/AFP/Getty Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Reuters Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Residents react as they look at their burned house EPA Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Rescuers and volunteers push an inflatable boat as locals are evacuated REUTERS Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens An aerial view of an urban area burnt following fire in Mati Hellenic Ministry of Defence/AFP/Getty Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Asimina Psalti, 87, reacts as she sits outside her burned house in Mati east of Athens AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A burnt forest following a wildfire in the village of Neos Voutzas AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens People cover their faces from the smoke that fills the sky near Kineta AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Smoke rise over an avenue during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa, a northeast suburb of Athens EPA Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Melted metals from burned cars after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati EPA Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Firefighters look for missing persons REUTERS Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Smoke fills the sky as members of the emergency services block a road near Kineta, west of Athens AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Burnt cars at the village of Mati AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Cars are blocked at the closed National Road AFP/Getty Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens A woman sprays water outside her house that was damaged in the wildfires near the village of Neos Voutzas AP Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Smoke from a wildfire burning outside Athens is seen over the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill REUTERS Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens An aerial view shows burnt houses following a wildfire in the village of Mati AFP/Getty Images Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens Flames are seen next to firefighting vehicle during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa EPA Greece wildfire: deadly blaze rages across holiday resorts near Athens People look inside a burnt car REUTERS State power, wrongly exercised, can inhibit legitimate business, and its regulatory functions have little effect in societies where illegality and a shadow economy are prevalent. Look at post-communist countries that suffer from a legacy of a large yet weak state. Greece may never have been part of the Soviet bloc, but successive weak governments, coping badly with the country’s underdevelopment, have created a series of distortions that are unseen in western Europe, but common in the east. Does Greece’s problematic historical development contribute to this particular type of disaster? The short answer is yes, it does. The explanation for how areas of Greece burst into flame each year is not simply a question of poor ecological management, building standards, fire prevention and firefighting capabilities. This explanation rests with the law and its enforcement. In Greece, there is a lot of unused land classed as agricultural or forest.<doc-sep>Mr Papadias had been in the village of Kokkino Limanaki, on the southern edge of Mati when the fire struck. It was like a horror movie, he said, with injured and elderly pleading for help, and he was not being in a position to do anything,<doc-sep>Five days after devastating wildfires decimated seaside communities outside Athens, leaving 87 dead and countless missing, Greece’s embattled prime minister Alexis Tsipras has assumed political responsibility for the disaster. At an emergency meeting of his cabinet, he acknowledged that the tragedy had left him wondering whether his government could have done more to prevent such loss of life. “This is a difficult moment, perhaps the heaviest of our term in office,” he said. “The dead cannot talk, but the least we can do in their memory is to show respect for the truth. “Before the cabinet, and the Greek people, I want to assume full responsibility for the tragedy … I regard this as self-evident for the prime minister of a country to do – and I call on you to also assume responsibility, no matter how hard.” The leftist-led coalition has been left reeling as criticism of its handling of the disaster mounted. Tsipras, who assumed power in 2015, promising to radically change the way Greece was governed, admitted that he had been possessed by “mixed feelings of pain, devastation and anguish … anguish as to whether we acted as we should have done, if we responded correctly in these critical hours, and if we could have done anything more to save even one more of the souls who died unjustly”. The prime minister has not appeared in public since rushing back from Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday when it became clear that wildfires were raging out of control barely 25km outside the capital. His absence has reinforced the outcry over the response to a disaster now regarded as Greece’s worst in modern times. With the death toll rising, the Queen joined other international heads of state in expressing her condolences this week. Addressing his sombre and downcast ministers, Tsipras said the disaster had left him fearing that out of an “instinct of self-preservation”, members of his government could have “made too many excuses to lessen responsibility” – even if the political opposition was also exploiting the disaster. But Tsipras’ coalition provoked further fury on Friday when the civil protection minister, Nikos Toskas, told a hastily arranged news conference that while he suspected that arson had caused the fires, he had found no indication “of grave errors” in the way they had been handled. On Thursday, the defence minister, Panos Kammenos, was heckled as he inspected the charred remains of buildings in Mati, the seaside village almost entirely obliterated by the conflagration and where most of the deaths occurred. Burnt cars in Neo Voutza, northeast Attica. Photograph: Alexandros Vlachos/EPA Many victims are now known to have died after becoming trapped in vehicles as they tried to escape the fires. But with gale-force winds of up to 124km/h fanning the flames, the government has insisted there was no time to evacuate people from areas whose escape routes were blocked by illegally built summer homes. In a special report, experts from the University of Athens’ faculty of geology and geo-environment described Mati as a “fire-trap”, arguing that the resort’s anarchic construction had rendered fire safety impossible in an area well known for summer blazes. 00:34 Greek wildfires: drone footage shows extent of devastation – video While the search for the dozens still thought to be missing continues, it was confirmed late Friday in Greece that the 9-year-old twin sisters who had gone missing in Mati had also perished in the fires. Sophia and Vasiliki Philipopoulou were found locked in an embrace with their grandparents, in whose care they had been when the great inferno occurred. The government has been quick to announce relief measures, including a one-off €10,000 (£8,800) payment for the families of victims, university places for affected children and public sector jobs for the partners of those who died. As rescue crews continued to comb the fire-ravaged region for victims, Tsipras said he was determined to deal with the chronic problems that triggered the tragedy, starting with illegal construction and society’s abuse of the natural environment. “We will proceed with speed and determination to draw up a national plan which will finally deal with the construction anomalies that go back decades,” he said. It was crucial, he added, that the country overhauled its civil protection agency. “If we need to put bulldozers to work and face confrontation, so be it. We are not going to sit back with our arms crossed, taking half-measures, waiting indecisively for the next tragedy.”<doc-sep>Two nine-year-old twins who went missing in Greece’s wildfires died “hugging” their grandparents, it was confirmed late on Friday. A family friend announced on Facebook that the bodies of sisters Sophia and Vassiliki Philippopoulou were identified along with their grandparents. Angelos Kontos wrote: “The epilogue has been written. All 4 found hugging each other. Not even death could tear them apart.” A private detective employed by the family later confirmed the news. They were among the 26 bodies found huddled together in a “last embrace” on a cliff edge as the fires raged around them. The sisters’ disappearance gripped the country’s attention after their father, Yiannis, claimed to have caught sight of them in TV news footage showing people getting off a fishing boat used to rescue survivors. He made an emotional appeal on national TV for anyone who had been on the boat to contact him.<doc-sep>
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will this weekend begin burying the victims of a devastating wildfire near Athens which killed at least 88 people, and has prompted criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster. Slideshow ( 5 images ) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday took political responsibility for the tragedy as opposition leaders said the government had failed to adequately safeguard lives. On Sunday, three members of the same family are due to be laid to rest in the first known funeral since the blaze broke out last Monday in the seaside village of Mati, 30 km (17 miles) east of Athens. “We will say our final goodbye to our much-loved Grigoris, Evita and Andreas ... tragic victims in Mati,” the Fytrou family said in a statement published by the Athens news agency, asking media not to attend. The search for the missing continues and many people remain in hospital, while the names of more victims have emerged. Twin nine-year old girls Sofia and Vasiliki Filippopoulou, whose pictures have featured internationally, were confirmed dead, state broadcaster ERT reported on Saturday. DNA tests showed the girls and their grandparents died in the blaze at Mati. Graphic on wildfire tmsnrt.rs/2K6N3Qc Their grandfather’s burnt-out car was located outside a plot of land where 26 people died, with some of the victims found embracing each other in death, ERT said. Heavy downpours hit the region on Saturday, prompting fears that the work of rescue crews and efforts by locals to salvage what they can from the fire could be made more difficult. The government has announced a long list of relief measures and promised to tackle decades-old problems, including haphazard and unlicensed residential building, to minimize the risk of a repeat disaster and to cool public anger. A deputy mayor in Marathon, which administers some of the affected area, on Saturday became the first official to resign over the wildfire.