AVELAR, Portugal // Raging forest fires in central Portugal killed at least 62 people, many of them trapped in their cars as flames swept over a road.
Portugal declared three days of national mourning for victims of the fire, which began on Saturday and swept across the Pedrogao Grande area about 150 kilometres north-east of Lisbon. Prime minister Antonio Costa said it was the biggest tragedy the country had experienced in years.
An interior ministry official said 60 people died from the flames and suffocating smoke, while two people perished in a traffic accident related to the fires. Another 54 people were injured, including four firefighters and a seriously injured minor.
At least 30 people were killed when their vehicles were engulfed by flames on a road between the towns of Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera, and three others died from smoke inhalation in Figueiro dos Vinhos. The rest of the bodies were found outside of the cars or in the forest, the official said.
“This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” said Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande. “I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.”
Investigators believe the blaze was sparked by a lightning strike after finding a tree that was hit during a dry thunderstorm, which occur when falling water evaporates before reaching the ground because of high temperatures. Portugal has experienced temperatures of 40°C last week.
On Sunday more than 350 soldiers joined 700 firefighters who have been struggling to put out the blaze. The interior ministry official said firefighting crews were having difficulties in battling the fire, which was “very violent” on at least two of its four fronts.
A Spanish firefighting aircraft was already assisting on Sunday morning and another one was expected to arrive later in the day. France was also sending three aircraft.
Prime minister Costa on Sunday tweeted his “deepest regret for the victims ... and a word of encouragement and strength for all who help combat this scourge.”
The loss of life caused by a forest fire was the biggest in Portugal since 25 soldiers perished fighting wildfires in 1966.
“We are most likely facing the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known,” Mr Costa said.
Last August, an outbreak of fires across Portugal killed four people, including three on the island of Madeira, and destroyed huge areas of forest.
* Associated Press
