The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Athens

Fires raged unabated Sunday on the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece where at least 51 people have died in the flames, and officials at the inferno's frontline said the situation remained critical.

The death toll climbed to 51 after two more charred bodies were found near the town of Megalopoli in central Peloponnese. Most of the victims of the fire since Friday have been found in the region of Zacharo, to the west of the peninsula, and include seven children, according to police. "The situation is still very critical," a spokesman for the firefighers at the front of the batle against the violent blazes told AFP. Fires have also erupted on Euboea, the second-largest Greek island, north of Athens, where several seaside resorts have been evacuated. In all some 40 villages have been evacuated in the Peloponnese and on Euboea, the spokesman said, adding that "we are ready to organise new evacuations at any time."

Greece was forced to declare a state of emergency on Saturday as the country began three days of national mourning.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in a message to the nation on Saturday that action was being was taken "to mobilise all means and all forces" to put out the worst fires in a decade and help those affected.

He pointed the finger at arsonists for starting the fires in areas hit hard by summer droughts and multiple heatwaves, and said his government would "do everything in its power to find and punish those responsible."