Greece fires leave trail of desolation in village of Mati
Survivors of the devastating fires in Greece go through what is left of their homes as the smell of smoke fills the air.
Wednesday 25 July 2018 21:00, UK
In the small seaside town of Mati there is no shortage of desolation.
Gutted houses line the streets, the smell of smoke and ash is, in places, overpowering.
As you turn corners though, you catch a vista of the azure seas dappled by the hot summer sun - it comes as a surprise, invading the vision of carnage.
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In isolation it would be picture postcard stuff; except the branches of the trees framing the view are all withered and black.
But it is that sudden glimpse of tranquillity that helps you understand how life here suddenly turned to terror when the fires whipped and leapt through this place on Monday afternoon.
I met two brothers, Mike and Manos, in what was left of their parents' home on what was once one of Mati's prettiest streets.
They were looking for their mother's wedding ring amid the burned out shell.
The pair told me how they fled - the fires licking at their backs as they hotfooted without shoes down the road, shepherding their mum, dad and the dog to the safety of the sea.
Even there though, there was no respite from the inferno engulfing their town and their lives.
The burning embers from the leaves and trees along the shore rained down like tiny firebombs on their heads, as they cowered further into the water.
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Eventually they were rescued, but like many people here they are critical of the authorities.
They say the response was badly co-ordinated and slow.
And this, they say, is why Mati will no longer be known as a sleepy holiday resort, but as a place where large numbers of people perished in the worst wild fires Greece has seen for decades.