Authorities examine video of black-clad suspect in deadly Rethymno wildfire probe

Video evidence emerges

Greek investigators are examining a video that may capture the arsonist who set the catastrophic wildfire that ignited in Asomatos, Rethymno, and quickly engulfed the Preveli palm forest. The footage, obtained by the Hellenic Police and Fire Service, shows a man dressed entirely in black walking through an agricultural area above the main road around 1 p.m. on 30 July. According to multiple outlet reports, the man initially moves without an obvious purpose, then advances toward a dense cluster of bushes. There he stays for exactly 46 seconds, a duration noted precisely by Iefimerida. After emerging, he is seen holding something, and he returns briefly to the same spot before backing away. Seconds later, the first thin smoke appears from the bushes where he had lingered. As the smoke thickens, the black-clad figure is seen sprinting away in the opposite direction, while flames begin to leap from the brush, driven by strong winds.

“It is extremely difficult to be a simple coincidence that the fire broke out while this specific person was at the scene.”

What the footage reveals

The video timeline reconstructs a clear suspicious sequence. The suspect's initial loitering, the 46-second stay inside the bushes, his exit carrying an item, a second approach to the same cluster, and his flight precisely when the smoke begins, all align, investigators say, with a deliberate act. The site is now considered the probable ground zero of the blaze. The clip was captured the day before 1 August, at approximately 1 in the afternoon, and its existence has shifted the probe firmly toward arson. Fire and police officers are now scanning every available security camera in the broader area to reconstruct the suspect's full route before and after the ignition.

The fire's path and destruction

The wildfire started on the afternoon of 30 July in Asomatos and, fanned by powerful winds, raced southward toward the Libyan Sea coast, reaching the Preveli palm forest. The forest, a protected natural monument with unique palm trees and a historic monastery, sustained severe burns. The flames consumed thousands of stremmata of agricultural land and wild vegetation, along with homes, tourist businesses, and animal farms. Residents reported seeing smoke and hearing the fire within minutes, but the speed of the blaze left little time for defense. The fact that the fire erupted only hours after the funerals of two firefighters who perished in another front added to the grief of local communities, as reported by Iefimerida.

Conflicting casualty reports

While most outlets emphasize the material and ecological ruin, two sources differ on human loss. To Vima and NewsIT state the fire left behind two dead, specifically two volunteer firefighters who died battling it. Iefimerida, however, frames the two deaths as having occurred in a separate fire, noting that the Asomatos blaze followed their funerals. Official confirmation of the final casualty count has not yet been provided in the articles reviewed, and investigators are focused on both the fire's cause and its full human consequences.

Investigation and legal actions

The criminal investigation has already produced a felony arson charge against the responsible official of DEDDIE, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, as recalled by NewsIT, suggesting the fire may have been linked to electrical infrastructure failure. However, the new video points toward a separate, possibly intentional human origin, and authorities are now pursuing that lead with urgency. Officers are collaborating with local residents, gathering witness accounts and any private surveillance footage that could help identify the black-clad individual. Police and fire service sources state that identifying the man is a matter of time, and once located, he will be summoned to explain his movements. The parallel strands, a DEDDIE official facing felony charges and a video of a suspected arsonist, mean the inquiry must now determine whether these are connected or distinct causes of the same disaster.