Death toll from forest fires in Greece reaches 74

ATHENS, Greece — Greece says the death toll from forest fires that raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital has increased to 74.

Fire Service spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said Tuesday afternoon that the death toll had increased from 50 to 74, adding that another 164 adults and 23 children were being treated in hospitals for injuries.

Two main fires broke out Monday, one to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta and one to the northeast near the port of Rafina. Both were fanned by gale-force winds Monday that hampered firefighting efforts and sent hundreds of people fleeing to beaches, from where they were evacuated on boats late at night.

It was the Rafina fire that appears to have been the deadliest by far.

Officials in Poland say a Polish woman and her son drowned when their boat capsized during evacuation from wildfires in Greece.

Janusz Smigielski, deputy head of the Poznan-based Grecos office, said Tuesday that the two were vacationing in the resort of Mati, east of Athens. He said they drowned during the evacuation of 10 people by boat on Wednesday night, and that he was still waiting for Greek authorities to give details about the accident.

Smigielski said that a further 435 Grecos clients in the Athens region have been moved to hotels in safe areas.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry has appealed to Poles in Greece to be very cautious.

Croatia has offered two Canadair aircraft to help Greece battle wildfires that have killed dozens of people near Athens.

Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic said Tuesday Croatia is preparing the planes so they are ready to go to Greece if needed there.

Wildfires also are common in Croatia in dry and windy weather during hot summers along the Adriatic Sea coast.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also is offering her country’s help to fight the forest fires raging in Greece.

In a message of condolence sent to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday, Merkel said that “in these difficult hours Germany stands firmly by the side of our Greek friends.”

She added: “You can be sure of our willingness to provide support in coping with the fire disaster.”