Seven dead as floods hit Greek island

A baby was among seven people who died as torrential rains and floods swept the Greek island of Evia, damaging dozens of houses and blocking roads, authorities said Sunday.

The eight-month-old baby was found dead in a house in the village of Politika on Sunday, said a spokesman for firefighters involved in rescue efforts. The baby’s parents were unharmed.

Hours earlier, a man and woman in their 80s were found unconscious by firefighters in two houses in the same village, the spokesman said. They were confirmed as dead at the hospital.

Two other people who died, a 74-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman, were from the village of Bourtsi, the ANA news agency reported.

The five dead were among an earlier official toll, which also listed one person as missing, following torrential rains late Saturday and early Sunday.

In a new toll, firefighters said seven people had died — but gave no immediate details of who they were — and that one person remained missing.

One woman was found after being reported missing.

The ANA news agency said a helicopter had spotted the missing woman, who had been swept away by the floodwaters from her home in Bourtsi.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voiced his “profound pain for the loss of lives” and said he would visit Evia, Greece’s second largest island after Crete, on Monday. (AFP)