ATHENS – The families of victims of the Greek Wildfires that swept a series of forested seaside areas after apparently being deliberately set will get 5 million euros in assistance from the Bank of Greece (BOG,) with more financial aid coming from other groups as well, including from the National Bank of Greece (NBG) and the Diaspora.

Bank Governor Yannis Stournaras said the money would help in reconstruction with some 98 percent of the village of Mati near the port of Rafina wiped out in the conflagration that killed at least 85 people.

“The General Council expressed its deep sorrow for the loss of life and for the economic and environmental devastation caused by the recent wildfires,” the BOG said in a statement, adding that aid would also go provide financial assistance to survivors and support reconstruction work.

The amount will be deposited in an account opened by the Ministry of Finance with the central bank (ΙΒΑΝ: GR4601000230000002341195169).

Other major donors included the Onassis Foundation, which pledged 5 million euros as well, and the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA-led coalition has suspended foreclosures on homes in the fire-stricken areas with the government also saying there would be range of aid for the families.
There was no immediate word on whether Greece’s essentially tax-free shipping sector, the world’s biggest and ruled by billionaires, had offered any help.