Greece 2018: Over 3000 illegal buildings demolished for fire prevention

After the catastrophic wildfire in the Greek coastal town of Mati, the Greek government has begun to demolish around 3,200 illegally constructed buildings in the Attica region.



"The chaos that unregulated buildings cause is threatening human life and can no longer be tolerated," said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a visit to the coastal region.



Greece has for decades been tolerating unregulated construction in neighbourhoods. The consequences have been that street and city planning and buildings often are lacking in fire protection.



91 people in Mati paid with their lives for this on July 23: people were stuck in buildings and narrow streets unable to get out.



The demolition of the 3,200 buildings in Attica, where Athens is included,  allegedly will begin immediately.