By Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Search continued on Wednesday for missing among the debris in seaside resorts of eastern Attica which were hit by a deadly wildfire this week, as families queued to identify the victims.
At least 80 people lost their lives and 187 others were injured in the blaze which broke out on Monday afternoon, according to the latest official count by the Fire Brigade.
Local mayors have repeatedly expressed fears that the number may exceed 100 in coming hours, as emergency crews continued to search door to door thousands of scorched homes and cars.
The number of missing is still unclear and as time passes relatives have turned also to local television channels and social media, with appeals for information about their loved ones.
Others queued outside hospitals where the injured have been transferred, as well as the morgue for the painful identification process of corpses or to give DNA samples for comparison.
The process is time-consuming, as in many cases the bodies are entirely charred and DNA tests are necessary, Nikos Karakoukis, head of the Athens Coroners' Bureau told Greek national news agency AMNA, stressing that it was an "unprecedented challenge" for coroners in Greece.
"We will be here day and night to conclude the autopsies and the identification process as early as possible to ease the agony of people," coroner Nikos Kalogrias added.
Psychologists were standby to offer psychological support to people mourning for their dead or agonizing over the fate of the missing.
Among those queuing outside the morgue of Goudi in the center of Athens on Wednesday was the father of 25 year old Victor Michas. He feared his son drowned while trying to escape from the flames.
A letter a mother who lost her two children and her husband in the blaze was reproduced by many local media. Her 13 year old daughter Evita Fytrou was seen jumping into her death onto the rocks.
Her 11-year-old son Andreas was found inside the family's car next to his father, Grigoris, near a site where a pile of charred bodies was found on Tuesday with many still hugging each other.
"I still hear the trembling voice of Andreas 'I am scared mom, I am so worried, but I will be strong. Do not come. Roads are closed.' When the identification process is over, I will tell you that I have lost everything. Embrace your kids every day," she wrote.
The entire country was in national mourning since Tuesday facing the deadliest tragedy caused by wildfires in over a decade.
Hundreds of firefighters were still battling against flare ups in Eastern Attica, as well as western Attica near Kineta where flames also have spread destruction since Monday without human losses.
