ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Signs of exhaustion were everywhere four days after a deadly earthquake north of Athens forced tens of thousands of people from their wrecked homes.
As the death toll from the magnitude 5.9 quake reached 106 on Saturday, relatives of 26 people believed still buried in rubble stood silently among reporters and cameramen as tireless rescue workers from Greece and six other countries tunneled into collapsed buildings hoping for a miracle."We still hope everyone is alive," said Fire Chief Nikos Kotsioris, who said rescue work had ended at all but four sites. "It is a very difficult operation. The weight of the rubble is great."
Cranes were used to lift slabs of concrete off a collapsed five-story household products factory in the remote chance anyone trapped in the levels below had survived.
An estimated 50,000 people have been forced outdoors in the blue collar neighborhoods and towns of Menidi, Metamorfosi, Nea Philadelphia and Ano Liosia, where the mayor's home was destroyed.
Officials said enough tent space was available at settlements to accommodate the homeless. But many victims determined to stay near their damaged homes and belongings were still scrambling for basic provisions.
About 8,000 police and 3,000 soldiers are patrolling streets with evacuated buildings to stamp out looting and a fast-emerging black market, providing everything from tents to mobile phones.
Dozens of aftershocks and frequent rainfall have added to the prevailing scene of fear and misery. At a damaged building in central Athens, two religious icons sit on a ledge split by a giant crack.
Crews of engineers chiseled plaster off walls to check if cracks endangered concrete supports. They have marked more than 2,000 buildings for demolition, including homes, schools and even a soccer stadium.
Government officials said all damaged homes would be inspected by Monday. Banks were open Saturday to hand out emergency government grants for $660.
As rescue operations were scaled back, fresh damage caused by the quake was discovered. Defense official said a large army communications base north of Athens faced demolition after suffering extensive damage.
And at least 10 patients who fled a psychiatric hospital in Athens after the quake are still missing. Five buildings at the hospital complex were seriously damaged and about 300 patients had to be moved to other facilities.
News reports said nearly 100 civil engineers, building contractors and low-ranking town planning officials were under investigation as part of a criminal probe into deaths caused by alleged substandard structures flattened by the quake.
"There will be penalties," Premier Costas Simitis said Friday, repeating promises of swift justice.
But legal experts cautioned that the investigation could be time consuming, and that punishment would only affect people who erected buildings after 1995, when tougher construction laws were introduced.