ATHENS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The first victims of Monday's wildfires near Athens, which claimed 88 lives, were laid to rest during the weekend, as suspected negligence emerged as the cause of the tragedy during investigations.
An elderly resident of a settlement in the Penteli Mountain area, where the first flames broke out, may have started the blaze by burning branches while clearing his yard, the Kathimerini newspaper reported, citing the results of a preliminary probe by the Fire Brigade.
As the government, local administration, experts and the public debated whether it was due to negligence, arson, late response by the authorities, or lack of an emergency evacuation plan, Greece was mourning its deadliest national tragedy in over a decade.
As the search for a yet unclear number of missing persons continued and dozens were hospitalized, more heartbreaking personal stories of the victims who perished in the flames in coastal resort Mati, 30 kilometers east of Athens, or drowned in the sea began to surface.
On Sunday, Varvara Fytrou bade farewell to her 13-year-old daughter Evita, who jumped to her death onto rocks, and her 11-year-old son Andreas, whose charred body was found inside their car next to that of his father, 54-year-old Grigoris.
As coroners continued autopsies on the victims, more missing persons were identified among the dead.
DNA tests showed two 9-year-old girls, Vassiliki and Sofia Filippopoulou, died next to their grandparents just a few meters from the sea inside a home yard, where at least 26 people died, many hugging one another.
Thirteen-year-old Dimitris Alexopoulos was also confirmed dead after DNA tests. Through pictures posted on social media by survivors, his father had recognized the boy next to his grandmother, who is still missing. They were on the beach amid thick smoke, among dozens of other people waiting to be evacuated.
Speaking to local reporters outside the coroner's office, his father, a doctor, wished that Greece would learn from the mistakes and such tragedies would not happen again.
More than 1,000 people who rushed to the shore were evacuated by the Coast Guard, local fishermen and Greek Navy vessels.
Some of those who made it to the shores died of smoke inhalation or drowned, according to the coroners.
A 6-month-old baby died of smoke inhalation in his mother's arms, although she reached the waters, while his father, a fire fighter, was battling the flames.
"Farewell, our little fish," read the message on a small piece of paper that the family left on the beach.
