Greek mayors ask to reconnect power to poor homes as another person dies
The mayors of the Athenian suburbs of Palaio Faliro, Peristeri and Vyronas on Friday addressed a joint letter to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras asking that local authorities be allowed to cover the cost of reconnecting impoverished households that have had their power cut off due to unpaid bills.
Their letter came as 86-year-old woman living alone in a shed in Aspropyrgos, western Attica, was found dead by firefighters called in by neighbors.
It is suspected that the woman died after inhaling smoke from a makeshift stove.
On Thursday two people were hospitalized after their home in Kordelio in Thessaloniki caught fire, likely from candles that they were using for light as they had no electricity.
Also on Friday, hundreds attended a memorial service in Thessaloniki for a 13-year-old Serbian girl who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a brazier her mother was using to heat their home less than a week ago.