Greek fire death toll rises to 37

The death toll from forest fires that have raged uncontrolled across vast swathes of southern Greece rose to 37 people, the fire department said today.

Most of the deaths - at least 20 - occurred in the western Peloponnese, near the town of Zaharo, where firefighters were searching through charred houses after daybreak.

Among the dead were a mother and her four children who had been reported missing.

A massive fire in the area, fanned by strong winds, continued to burn out of control today.

Earlier, 27 people had been confirmed dead across the south of the country, and firefighters searching through charred houses near Zaharo after daybreak found 10 bodies in the village of Makistos, the department said.

There were fears that the death toll could increase further as rescue crews reached villages that had been surrounded by walls of flames during the night.

Desperate residents and local mayors called television and radio stations to appeal for help from overstretched firefighters.

Arson was suspected in several cases, with many new fires starting during the night, said fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis. Police and firefighting investigators were heading to the areas.

Water-dropping helicopters and airplanes were redeployed to battle the fires, but some were hampered for a second day by strong winds.

Across the country since yesterday morning, more than 170 blazes raged from the western Ionian islands to Ioannina in northwest Greece, and down to the south.

Several villages were evacuated today, adding to others evacuated throughout the previous day.

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 smouldering 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.

Hot, dry winds gusting to gale force throughout yesterday were expected to continue today 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 said.

The government on yesterday appealed to European Union countries to "send any help they can", acting Interior Minister Spyros Flogaitis said after an emergency meeting of Greece's civil protection authority.

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.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who last week called early general elections for mid-September, visited Zaharo and described the situation as "an unspeakable tragedy".

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 already come under criticism for its response to previous fires that ravaged Greece earlier this summer. Ten people, including five firefighters, had died in those earlier fires.

A recent three-day heatwave, in which temperatures have touched 40C (104F), has left forests and shrubland parched, and the flames have been fanned by strong winds across Greece.