"It's like the end of the world" Already 7 dead in forest fires in Portugal

Portugal was largely spared major forest fires this year. The three largest fires alone, raging in the Aveiro region in the north of Portugal, had destroyed around 10,000 hectares of land by Monday evening, according to the civil defense. The all-clear is not in sight.

Seven people have already died in the forest fires that have been raging in Portugal since Sunday. The number of injured was more than 50 in a recent assessment by the civil defense (ANEPC), as reported by the Lusa news agency. More than 5300 firefighters, members of the civil defense and soldiers fought more than 20 major fires in the north and center of the popular vacation destination. A total of 21 fire-fighting planes and helicopters were deployed. "It's like the end of the world," said one affected woman to the TV station CNN Portugal.

EU partners send help quickly

The fire-fighting work was supported by eight fire-fighting aircraft sent by the EU partners on Monday following a call for help from Lisbon. There are two planes each from Spain, Italy, France and Greece. The forest fire alert, which was originally only issued until Tuesday evening, has now been extended until Thursday evening by the responsible authorities. "We're going to have a tough time over the next few days. We have to prepare for it", warned Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.

So far this year, Portugal has been spared major forest fires. However, 62,000 hectares of nature have now been affected within around 48 hours, as Lusa reported, citing the European Copernicus earth observation system. That is 620 square kilometers, which is twice the area of Munich.

Three firefighters burnt to death in the vehicle

While there were fires in many places, the regions of Aveiro, Porto, Coimbra and Viseu were the worst affected. All seven fatalities were recorded there: Most recently, the bodies of three firefighters were recovered in Tábua in the district of Coimbra, whose vehicle was caught in the flames on a forest path, according to Mayor Ricardo Cruz. The three occupants - two women and a man - were all burnt to death, it said. Previously, a firefighter and three civilians had died in the Aveiro and Viseu regions.

In Albergaria-a-Velha, Sever do Vouga and other municipalities in the Aveiro region, at least four dozen buildings and countless vehicles were engulfed by the fire, according to official figures. Hundreds of people were brought to safety. Four people were arrested on suspicion of arson. It is not yet known whether the arrests are connected to the current major fires.

Several highways and some country roads were still partially closed on Tuesday. Train and long-distance bus services were severely disrupted. The smoke darkened the sky over the regional capital Aveiro and other municipalities. Citizens were urged to stay at home and use as little water as possible.

dpa