Greece's worst wildfires in a decade rage near Athens

Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the blazes and the authorities are seeking international assistance. Pic/AFP

Wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town killed at least 74 people, officials said, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The inferno was by far Greece's worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati on Monday and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, who had apparently hugged each other as they died, near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach. "They had tried to find an escape route, but unfortunately they didn't make it. Seeing the end nearing, they embraced," Nikos Economopoulos, head of Red Cross said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever