First of 18 migrants killed in Evros wildfire identified
The first of 18 migrants who died in a massive wildfire that swept with devastating speed through the Evros border region last August has been identified through DNA.
Qusai Al Ahmad, a Syrian refugee living in Norway, said Greek authorities confirmed that his 28-year-old brother, Basel, had been among the victims. The bodies were found on August 22 near a shack south of the village of Avantas, near the vast Dadia forest.
The 32-year-old told Kathimerini he heard his brother’s voice for the last time on August 21. “He told me on the phone that he could see fire everywhere, it had almost surrounded them, but they would try to get away.” The next day, the 32-year-old read on a Facebook post the news that 18 migrants were found dead in the Evros fire.
Two days and several phone calls and online searches later, he called the Hellenic Police’s Disaster Victim Identification Team. “I am almost certain that my brother is among the victims in Evros,” he told an interpreter in Arabic. He was asked to provide a DNA sample and he traveled to Athens. On September 6, police said there was a match.
Coroner Pavlos Pavlidis, who was the one who was called at the scene when the charred remains were found, said Basel is the only victim identified so far.
