They Married Thursday, She Was a Widow Days Later

An Irish couple's idyllic Greek honeymoon has become a disaster from which only one will return. Days after arriving in the seaside resort of Mati, Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp became separated from his new bride as they ran to escape a fast-moving wildfire; he is now among the 81 dead, per Reuters. O'Callaghan-Westropp and Zoe Holohan—who arrived in Greece on Saturday following their Thursday wedding in Kells—were forced to abandon their car in gridlock as winds pushed flames toward the sea. They ran in that direction but became separated close to the water, reports the Irish Times. Holohan reached a beach and realized her husband was no longer with her. The Irish ambassador to Greece confirmed O'Callaghan-Westropp's body was later found, per the BBC.

"Our sympathies and hearts go out to his family at this time," said Orla O'Hanrahan. She added Holohan was admitted to a hospital Tuesday with burns to her head and hands and is expected to fully recover. She's one of an estimated 200 people injured, per the Guardian. With another 40 missing, officials expect the death toll to continue to climb as rescue workers comb through as many as 2,500 burned homes. Identification of the deceased won't be easy. "Sometimes it’s difficult to see the people; they look like charcoal," the New York Times quotes a Red Cross volunteer as saying. Per the Times, an investigation into the cause will only begin when all the fires are out, though arson is suspected given "the proliferation of so many small fires" in drought-affected areas. (More Greece stories.)