Greece wildfires toll rises to 81

The number of dead from a fire which ripped through a Greek coastal town reached at least 81 yesterday as frantic relatives tried to track down people missing from the inferno and officials began the grim task of identifying bodies.

Hundreds of people were trapped in the eastern resort of Mati on Monday night as flames whipped around them. Many jumped into the sea to survive but others died from suffocation.

The Greek anti-terrorist service was probing suggestions that the blaze - one of several throughout the Attica region - was started deliberately, a security source said. Arson is often thought to be behind some fires in a crude attempt to clear forest land for building.