More fire victims being found at sea, in remote locations

A fifth person has been found dead in the sea off the coast of Artemida, about 6 nautical miles south of Rafina. He is described as a man aged in his mid-60s and is believed to have drowned while trying to flee the deadly fire that swept across Attica's eastern coast.

A Hellenic Navy frigate recovered the bodies of three women and a child in the same area earlier on Tuesday.

Port authorities and private boats, meanwhile, are in search of two Danish tourists who were among a group of 10 trying escape the flames in an inflatable boat. Eight of the passengers were rescued after the dinghy ran into trouble.

Reports from Mati, just north of Rafina speak of further casualties, as the latest death toll was put at around 50.

Skai television showed footage of burnt cars stopped just above a cliff, saying that a number of bodies were found as people were trapped between the flames and the cliff.

A local resident told reporters she managed to flee the flames with her 3-year-old daughter because she knew a passage from the residential area of Mati toward the sea, around that cliff. She was assisted over the rocks and into the water as she carried her child in her arms. They escaped with minor burns.

Others were not so lucky. Their cars have been found burnt or half-burnt near the cliff, abandoned in a hurry with some clothes, keys and chargers still inside.