‘Biggest tragedy in years’: At least 62 killed, 59 injured in Portugal forest fires (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
RT.com
18 Jun, 2017
A major forest fire sweeping through central Portugal has led to at least 62 fatalities, with 59 more people injured, Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes said, adding that many were burnt to death in their cars while making a desperate attempt to flee.
Secretary of State of Internal Administration Jorge Gomes had previously put the death toll at at least 43 people.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Portugal as the number of casualties resulting from the deadly fires continues to mount.
Jorge Gomes said that about 600 firefighters have been trying to put out the fires since Saturday.
He reported that at least 18 people were “burned to death in their cars,” while several others died from smoke inhalation.
Six firefighters have been injured, Gomes added.
Eighteen of the 59 injured are being treated in hospitals in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto, Gomes said, as cited by local media.
“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.”
The country’s prime minister has called it “the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years.”
The massive fire may have been caused by a lightning strike, as a damaged tree has been found, according to AP, citing police officials. The tree had been struck during a dry thunderstorm, which frequently spark wildfires. Such dry lightning storms occur in extremely hot dry conditions when rain evaporates before reaching the ground.
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