Desperate Greeks search for missing after fires
A Greek father is appealing for help locating his missing twin daughters, who he says he spotted alive in TV news footage showing people getting off a fishing boat that had rescued them as they fled deadly wildfires near Athens.
Yiannis Philipopoulos said early Wednesday that he and his wife recognized the 9-year-old girls Sophia and Vasiliki in the TV news footage after they spent a fruitless day searching for them at area hospitals and law enforcement agencies. He said the girls went missing along with their grandparents amid the wildfires that engulfed popular resort spots near the Greek capital.
Philipopoulos’s search highlights the plight of many families looking for relatives. Many people went into the sea to avoid approaching flames and where picked up by rescue boats. There is no definitive count on the missing.
Philipopoulos said in an appearance on the private television stations Skai and Alpha that the footage gave him hope that his children are alive. He urged anyone with information to contact him.
The captain of the rescue boat said authorities recorded the names of rescued people as they disembarked. [AP]
