ATHENS – A screening of a 2019 documentary about the July 23, 2018 deadly wildfires that engulfed the seaside village of Mati, killing 103 people in the region, upset relatives of the dead, local residents groups and the injured.

The film,  Megafires: Investigating a Global Threat, by Cosima Dannoritzer and Nicolas Koutsikas, didn’t show the scope of the tragedy, they said, which has produced investigations indicting former officials, including from the then-ruling Radical Left SYRIZA which didn’t have a disaster plan and responded in chaos.

“Mati was a crime, and this is how we must all deal with it if we really want it not to be repeated, and not just as a difficult fire,” the statement said about the fire, which also injured 200 people, 60 of them seriously, noted Kathimerini.

The screenings took place earlier in November as part of a series of events supported by WWF Hellas, in collaboration with the Center for the Protection of Forests and Natural Environment of Vyronas and Attica Forest Fire Volunteers.

Independent investigators hired by some families of victims pointed to a failed and shambolic response and a Greek prosecutor said there was a cover-up attempt by some officials trying to escape blame for their failures.