The death toll of the fires that are sweeping across Greece reached 61 people, the authorities reported. The deadly wildfires racing across Greece threatened some of the world’s most important antiquities Sunday as fire brigades struggled to gain control of what officials believed to be an arson-fueled inferno.
Fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said 89 new fires started during a 24-hour period that began at 6 a.m. Sunday. Twenty-eight were considered particularly dangerous.
Massive fires consuming large areas of southern Greece raced toward the site of the ancient Olympics on Sunday.
The area is patrolled by soldiers and fire fighters, who are trying to prevent the flames from spreading from a nearby forest to the ruins themselves.
Fire-fighting aircraft has been dispatched to save the ruins, which once housed a gigantic statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and are on UNESCO world heritage list.
Government and firefighting officials have suggested arson caused many of the blazes, and several people had been arrested. The government offered a reward of up to $1.36 million for anyone providing information that would lead to the arrest of an arsonist.
“These are very difficult times for all of us,” he added, calling on the European Union, of which Greece is a member state, to help the country with fire fighting aircraft.
Its own resources are stretched to the maximum with dozens of blazes reported throughout the country after an extended heat wave and drought.
Some of them are suspected to have been deliberate arson, which authorities vowed to crack down ruthlessly.
“They managed to destroy our past, our present and our future,” a man in his 30s said of the fires, speaking to Greek television from his home near Olympia.
“It’s hell everywhere,” said another, echoing the pleas repeated for days by desperate, frantic residents. “Please help us. . . . We are going to burn alive here.”