A series of wildfires in Greece engulfed regions around Athens on Monday, leaving at least 74 people dead and dozens more injured and fleeing their homes.
One of the hardest-hit regions was Mati, a seaside village 18 miles east of Athens. A wildfire hit the resort town on Monday afternoon and reduced much of it to ash.
Dozens of people fled to the sea in the hopes that they would be saved from the fires.
Kalogerikos Nikos posted photos of people desperately taking their belongings — clothes, chairs, motorbikes, and even pets — to Argya Akti beach, located in the town next to the Aegean Sea, on Monday night.
Kostas Laganos, a survivor in Mati, told Reuters: "We went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water.
"It burned our backs and we dove into the water."
Some 700 people were rescued by passing boats and coast guard vessels, Reuters reported on Monday night.
But, despite being in a seaside town, many others didn't make it due to the fast pace of the blaze.
A Reuters photographer in Mati saw at least four bodies on a narrow road clogged with cars that were heading to the beach, the news agency reported.
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