Greece has said it suspects arson is behind a devastating forest fire that has killed at least 83 people in the town of Mati east of Athens.
In one of the country’s worst disasters in living memory, Monday night's blaze trapped dozens of people in their cars trying to flee a wall of flames.
"We have serious indications and significant signs suggesting the criminal actions of arson," Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas told a news conference.
He said police had testimonies to that effect, but did not elaborate.
There are reports that police are investigating how the fire started from three different locations at the same time, on a day when a second major fire was raging west of the Greek capital.
With the death toll expected to rise, around 300 firemen and volunteers are searching the area for the dozens of people still missing.
In a nation numbed by the scale of devastation, desperate relatives appeared on television to plead for information on those missing, while questions mounted about how people became trapped, and why no evacuation order was issued.
"This shouldn't have happened, people perished for no reason," a tearful woman shouted at Defence Minister Panos Kammenos as he visited the town and nearby fire-ravaged areas. "You left us at God's mercy"
Haphazard and unlicensed building - a known feature of many areas across Greece - was also blamed.
"How is it possible to have so many lives lost and not investigate who is responsible for such town planning chaos?" said Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis.
Adding to the misery, an area of Athens was hit by flash floods today, damaging scores of cars.
Outside the coroner's service in Athens, the mood was grim as relatives of victims arrived to submit information and blood samples which could assist identifications.
"This is a difficult process, more difficult than other mass disasters we have dealt with," said coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias, adding that the bodies of most of the victims were completely charred.
About 500 homes were destroyed, and the fire brigade said there were closed-up homes that had not yet been checked.
The government announced a long list of relief measures, including a one-off €10,000 payment and a job in the public sector for victims' spouses and near relatives.
The fire broke out on Monday evening and spread rapidly through Mati, which lies less than 30 km east of Athens and is popular with tourists.
Firefighters described a rapid change in the direction of the wind, which also picked up speed, and some suggested the thick covering of pine trees and a mood of panic was a deadly combination that would have been hard to combat.
People had about 20 minutes to flee, the head of the union of fire brigade employees said.
