Armenia Catholicos, President express condolences over Greece fire

PanARMENIAN.Net - Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has sent a letter of condolences to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos II over the deadly wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town, which killed at least 60 people.

In a letter of his own, President Armen Sarkissian addressed his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos to express his deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of those who perished and wished a quick recovery to the injured.

The Armenian Embassy in Greece said no Armenians were among the casualties of the wildfires.

The Embassy posted telephone numbers on Tuesday, July 24 and encouraged people to contact the embassy employees in case they had any information about Armenian citizens injured by the fire in Attica and other regions of Greece.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia on Monday and returned to Athens to preside over an emergency response meeting with fire chiefs and government officials.

In total at least 60 people died, Evangelos Bournous, the mayor of nearby Rafina-Pikermi, said.

It was unclear how many people remained unaccounted for as coastguard vessels combed beaches to find any remaining survivors, with military hospitals on full alert, a government spokesman said.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Of the 156 people injured, 11 were in intensive care, they added.