Deadly flash floods strike

Photo: The Canadian Press

People look at a flooded bus as water engulfs a highway interchange in Athens.

Flash floods in the Greek capital's western outskirts Wednesday turned roads into raging torrents of mud and debris, killing at least five people, inundating homes and businesses and knocking out a section of a highway.

The coast guard said it recovered two more bodies from the sea near the area of flooding. Authorities said they believed the two men, one aged in his mid-50s and the other around 80, had been swept into the sea by the flash flood. If confirmed, it would put the death toll at seven.

The fire department said it is searching for at least a further three people who were reported missing by their families.

The flooding came after severe weather overnight, with a storm bringing driving rain to the area. Roads turned into muddy torrents that carried away vehicles, tossing them into piles on roadsides and against fences and buildings. Several walls from yards and low buildings collapsed, filling roads with rubble.

A section of the highway between Athens and Corinth was completely knocked out, with floodwaters inundating an underpass, trapping cars, trucks and buses. Firefighters using ropes rescued passengers from a bus and from cars trapped on the highway.

Judicial authorities ordered an immediate investigation into the deaths and material damage caused by the flooding. Investigators would be looking into whether factors such as shoddy or illegal construction might have contributed to the severity of the flooding.