Dramatic photos emerge from the nightmare that people of the small town of Mati, east of Athens, went through on Monday night.
Many faced a simple choice: Either jump into the water and swim for their lives or risk being consumed by a monster inferno, the likes of which had never seen before.
Most chose to swim, hoping someone would rescue them.
They swam into the sea, choking and blinded by the smoke and pulled by the strong current.
The same winds that fanned the flames had whipped up the seas, and soon some lost sight of the shore and became disoriented.
Others did not make it.
The survivors were picked up later by fishing boats and the Greek coast guard.