International

The documents also reveal that officers participating in the operation could not communicate with the operational centre of Greek Police in order to receive orders, because wireless communications devices were not operating.

With a destabilised government fighting for its own survival, the capacity to exploit opportunities arising from the bailout exit becomes extremely limited.

'The natural disaster and the loss of so many of our fellow humans overrides my will to continue, as I had said from the first moment,' Nikos Toskas said in his resignation statement.

Mitsotakis said that there were important operational mistakes, and that the main concern of the government was the communications management of the tragedy, and not substantially informing citizens.

A woman victim of the recent, disastrous wildfire, who was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit of Athens’ Evangelismos hospital, died today, raising the death toll to 88.

Although many avoid shows of support for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the government, on the sidelines there are barbs about the communications and political management of the crisis.

The PM and his ministers revealed themselves, and the management and political inadequacies that until that tragic Monday were well hidden, were exposed.

'New Democracy engages in cheap distractions, while we all know it is the party of clientelism, of political favours, and of arbitrary actions,” the PM’s press office said in a statement.

The fire was moving with incredible speed. The area above Argyra Akti became a deathtrap. Most streets led to a dead end or were so narrow that cars could not pass.

The dialogues through wireless systems reveal that policemen essentially did not know what they were doing, and they were confronted by the flames that swiftly reached the beach.

The country is in need of general, organised, and disciplined reforms, without hindrances. Without that, the country is in danger of getting lost with the first blowing of the wind

Over the last three-and-a-half years, the government hid its problematic aspects, and covered its inadequacies with invective, slander, and attacks against everyone.

'They [markets] want to see how we will behave after 20 August [the end of the bailout programme]. They will monitor every move of the government’s economic policy. If they think that we are backpedaling, they will leave.'

Mitsotakis said that as of today he is undertaking the responsibility, flanked by experts on civil protection, to redesign the country’s civil protection policy

The same log reveals that at 22:30 on Monday, Deputy Shipping Minister Nektarios Santorinios, the General Secretary of Ports and Port Policy Christos Lambridis, Coast Guard Chief Stamatis Raptis and the second deputy chief Athanasios Dounis, had seen and heard about the corpses of victims.

Whatever the prime minister attempted to do over the last days, and all that his communications team came up with, was lost in an atmosphere of mute mourning, and a general, nationwide sorrow for the dozens of unjustly lost people.

The parliament of FYROM has decided to hold the referendum on approving the Greece-FYROM naming agreement on 30 September.

The Board of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation will again support Greece’s Fire Service with a donation of 25mn euros, “aiming at supporting the difficult work of the men and women of the Fire Service, who are on the front line of protecting the country’s residents and its natural resources".

The spokesman said that specific decisions were taken at yesterday’s meeting, based on the PM’s statements to his cabinet on 27 July, in order to confront the ills that contributed to the tragedy in Eastern Attica.

The head of Greek Police’s criminal investigations bureau, Penelope Miniati, said she cannot rule out the prospect that bodies that were or will be found over the next few days may never be identified.