Forest fires that have taken at least 44 lives rage uncontrolled across vast areas of southern Greece, the fire department says. The skies around Athens are red and ashes fall in the center of the capital as wind drives the flames across the parched landscapeaccording to AP. Since Friday morning, more than 170 blazes fires have burned from the western Ionian islands to Ioannina in northwest Greece, and down to the south. New fires broke out Saturday, and fears grew that the death toll could rise as rescue crews reached villages that had been cut off by walls of flames. Arson was suspected in several cases, with 20 new fires starting during the night, said fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis. Authorities evacuated nuns from a convent and closed off a major highway on Mount Ymittos near Athens as flames approached the capital's eastern outskirts, causing extensive damage to a three-storey building in the Papagou suburb, the fire department said. Firemen assisted by water-dropping aircraft and hundreds of volunteers brought the blaze under partial control. No injuries were reported. The fire department said it was likely the Mount Ymittos fire was caused by arson, and an investigation was under way. As flags flew at half-staff over Parliament and other government buildings, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis led an emergency meeting of senior ministers in Athens. «This is a day of national mourning,» Karamanlis said after visiting afflicted areas. «I wish to express my deep grief over the lost lives. ... We are fighting against heavy odds, on many fronts and under particularly tough conditions.» Desperate residents and local mayors call television and radio stations to appeal for help from overstretched firefighters. Several more villages were evacuated on Saturday. Water-dropping helicopters and airplanes were redeployed to battle the fires, but some were hampered for a second day by strong winds. Following a Greek request to its European Union partners for help, France said it was sending two fire-fighting aircraft Saturday, while Germany, Spain and non-EU member Norway offered aircraft, and Cyprus was to send firefighters and fire engines. The deadliest fire was in the western Peloponnese region of southern Greece, where at least 38 people were killed in mountain villages near Zaharo, the fire department said. A massive fire in the area, fanned by strong winds, continued to burn out of control. Firefighters searching through charred houses in the region after daybreak found 10 bodies in the village of Makistos, the department said. They were believed to include a mother and her four children reported missing during the night, it said. Nine of those killed near Zaharo _ including three firefighters _ died after a car crashed into a fire truck and led to a pile up as residents tried to flee the area, the fire department said. At dawn, the smoldering remains of the fire truck could be seen overturned in a gully, and the charred wreckage of cars and a motorbike lay strewn across the road. Five of the dead were found to the southeast, near a hotel on the outskirts of the town of Areohoro, while a sixth _ a firefighter _ died of a heart attack while trying to battle the blaze. The blazes caused extensive electricity cuts in the Peloponnese, where officials said more than 230 villages were without power Saturday. Hot, dry winds gusting to gale force throughout Friday were expected to continue Saturday before abating in the evening. The winds frequently prevented firefighting planes from taking off, leaving mainly ground forces to fight the flames in the southern Peloponnese, occasionally helped by helicopters. A fire on the island of Evia north of the capital grew through the night, and the authorities declared a state of emergency in the area, said Sofia Moutsou, the mayor of the town of Styra. At least three villages were evacuated, the fire department's Diamandis said. «If we don't stop this now there will be nothing left,» said Moutsou early Saturday. She was hoping ferries could transport fire trucks to the island to help tackle the blaze. With firefighting services stretched to the limit, the military was also called in to help. Authorities said 500 soldiers, as well as several military helicopters, were to join the firefighting efforts. Greece has suffered its worst summer for forest fires this year, with hundreds of blazes burning thousands of hectares of forest and brushland. With early elections just three weeks away, the devastating fires are certain to become a political issue. Karamanlis' government has been criticized for its response to previous fires that ravaged Greece earlier this summer. Ten people, including five firefighters, died in those earlier fires.
