The wildfires in eastern Attica, one of the worst tragedies in post war Greece, triggered a lot of rumors about their cause.
Some suspected they were the result of arson by either unscrupulous developers who want to build on the land or by unnamed powers that want to harm Greece and the government.
Photos of possible starting points and objects that could have triggered the fire filled social media.
Up to now though all of them have appeared to be hoaxes, while the investigations of the authorities are ongoing.
A photo published by the leading Greek newspaper “Ethnos” that supposedly shows an ”incendiary device” that sparkled the wildfire, is a case in point.
The photo, that made front-page news on Saturday, apparently shows an empty gas canister in a wooded area, which, according to the paper, was near the starting point of the fire that killed 90+ people in the seaside resort of Mati.
However, a respected site that specializes in uncovering hoaxes in the Greek media says that the photo which has been republished in numerous sites and blogs is a hoax.
Ellinikahoaxes.gr found that the photo was posted on Facebook on Wednesday, two days after the deadly fire.
It had nothing to do with the wildfire in eastern Attica, since it was taken in western Attica.
It was actually taken in the area of Kinetta, where another wildfire was ranging at the time, by resident Dimitris Polychronis.
Polychronis told Ellinikahoaxes.gr that he informed the Fire Department about his discovery.
Fire fighters came to scene, inspected the canisters and found nothing suspicious. They concluded that they were used and thrown into the spot together with other rubbish.
Polychronis speaking in Greek:
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
