In this Thursday, July 26, 2018 photo, paintings hang in a burnt living room of a house in Mati, east of Athens. More than 86 people were either killed by the flames or drowned on Monday's wildfire as they tried to flee the fire into the nearby sea, waiting for hours in the water for rescue from local fishermen and private boat owners who saved many. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
July 29, 2018 - 10:29 AM
MATI, Greece - The Latest on the aftermath of a deadly wildfire in Greece (all times local):
8:10 p.m.
Fire officials in Greece have raised the death toll from a wildfire that raged through a coastal area east of Athens to 91 and reported that 25 people are missing six days after blaze.
Before the national fire service updated the official number of fatalities Sunday night, it had stood at 86. Greek officials previously had not provided a tally of the people reported missing.
The fire sped flames through the village without warning on July 23. A database maintained by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels shows it as the deadliest wildfire in Europe since 1900.
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, kept searching the sea on Sunday looking for the bodies of more possible victims.
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1:15 P.M.
Hundreds of people have attended a memorial service in the Greek seaside resort of Mati for the dozens who perished in a wildfire that devastated the area.
Bishop Kyrillos presided over Sunday's service at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, six days after the fire swept through and killed at least 86 people.
Kyrillos said the community is mourning the loss of family, neighbours and friends.
In a message read out during the service, the Church's Holy Synod said the burden of responsibility weighs upon everyone to avoid actions that hinder the protection of the environment.
Dozens of volunteer divers kept searching the sea off Mati on Sunday looking for the bodies of other possible fire victims. Hundreds fled into the sea on July 23 to escape the flames.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018