Greece wildfires: Survivors describe being chased to the sea and jumping off cliffs to escape huge flames

Survivors of the huge wildfires that have killed at least 74 people in Greece have told how they were forced to leap from cliffs into the sea to escape the flames.

Scores of gutted vehicles were seen lining the streets alongside dead bodies in the coastal town of Mati, near Athens, as the scale of Monday night’s devastation began to emerge.

One victim who managed to escape the blaze said: "We went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water.

Greece forest fires - In pictures

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“It burned our backs and we dived into the water.”

“Everything happened in seconds," said Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound in Mati where the 26 bodies were found.

"I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea."

People take refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece

Mr Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours.

"It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere," he said.

Among the survivors was former Greek Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga.

"The police tried to direct us away from the fire, but we couldn't escape it," she said.

"We got stuck in traffic and the flames were on top of us. We managed to find a small gap and we made it out."

Greece: Firefighters and volunteers try to extinguish flames during a wildfire at a village near Athens
AFP/Getty Images

Some 74 people have been confirmed dead as the search for missing people continued today, with authorities saying they expect the death toll to rise.

It was not clear how many people remained unaccounted for as boats combed beaches for any remaining survivors.

Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras described the fires as an "unspeakable tragedy" as he appeared on television to declare three days of national mourning.

Firefighters search the area were 26 charred bodies were found huddled together
EPA

"Greece is living one of its most difficult moments," he said. "There are absolutely no words to describe how we feel right now."

Residents, their faces blackened by smoke, wandered the streets, some searching for their burned-out cars, others for their pets.

Many in the area had been unable to escape the fast pace of the blaze even though they were a few metres from the Aegean Sea or in their homes, the fire service said.

At least 187 people were injured, officials said, among those 23 children.

Flags atop the ancient Acropolis hill and parliament flew at half mast.

The inferno was thought to be Greece's deadliest, with the death toll higher than fires which ravaged the southern Peloponnese peninsula over several days in August 2007, killing dozens.

By Tuesday afternoon the Mati fire was contained but the risk remained of it reigniting in scrubland parched by Greece's searing summer heat.

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