More international help was set arrive in Greece on Monday to fight the deadliest forest fires in the past 150 years, amid growing suspicion that many of the blazes which have killed over 60 people were arson.
Greek authorities on Sunday offered rewards of up to one million euros (1.4 million dollars) for help catching arsonists, as the fires also threatened historic sites, including ancient Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games.
Since Friday, police have arrested 10 people suspected either of starting fires deliberately or through negligence, including a 65-year-old man and an elderly woman.
Greek media speculated that many of the fires may have been started by property owners hoping to improve chances of receiving permits to develop their land.
More than 1,000 Greek firemen backed by 425 soldiers and 16 water-dropping aircraft have been battling the fires which have swept through thousands of hectares (acres), destroying homes and ravaging crops and olive groves.
International aid began arrive Sunday, including four water-bombing Canadair planes from France and two from Italy. France also sent 60 of its own firefighters and six firefighting vehicles.
Seven more planes were expected to arrive Monday -- four from Serbia, two from Spain and one from Romania -- and 11 helicopters: three each from Germany, Israel and the Netherlands, and the other two from Norway and Slovenia.
Austria also announced its army would be sending a Hercules C-130 military transport plane, two Augusta Bell 212 firefighting helicopters and 20 soldiers.
Firefighters continued to battle the blazes overnight. In some wooded areas, massive columns of flame turned the night sky orange and residents equipped with little more than garden hoses tried desperately to save their homes.
Sparks from blazing trees rained onto roads, sometimes barely missing the occasional vehicle driving past.
The death toll rose to 61 on Sunday with the discovery of four more bodies in the southwest of Peloponnese peninsula, a health ministry official said. The vast majority of the deaths have been on the Peloponnese.
"We are dealing with a national catastrophe without precedent," said firefighters' spokesman Nikolaos Diamantis Sunday, as the national state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis continued.
The disaster already ranks among the world's deadliest forest fires of the past 150 years, and the nation has been observing three days of national mourning since Saturday.
On Sunday there were fears that fires might engulf Ancient Olympia, listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO, with flames engulfing houses in the village next to the site, but it escaped destruction.
"The new archaeological museum has been saved and the flames did not enter the site of Ancient Olympia, where all the anti-fire systems functioned," Christos Zahopoulos, secretary general of the culture ministry, told AFP.
Another ancient site remained under threat Sunday night, however.
Fire moved toward The Temple of Apollo at Bassae in the Arcadian mountains, which dates to the 5th century BC and is also a UNESCO site.
Firefighters announced five more deaths on the Aegean island of Euboea, including two volunteer firefighters, where fresh fires broke out Sunday, burning woodlands and village homes.
Emergency services had so far evacuated a total of 40 villages on Euboea and the Peloponnese peninsula, said a fire services spokesman earlier Sunday.
Those fleeing the flames had sought refuge on beaches where the authorities provided tents. Financial aid and new lodgings had also been promised.
PHOTO CAPTION
A house burns in the village of Kapsala in Evia island. (AFP)
Reuters