A man and a woman have died in the fierce fires in Portugal as they tried to flee the flames that crept closer to their home. The couple, about 70 years old, had run off the road with their car, the mayor of Murça said Monday evening. Meanwhile, arrests were made in France for arson.
“The car was completely burnt out, both died inside.” The two elderly people were staying at their home in a village near Murça in the north of the country. “They apparently decided to flee as the flames got closer and closer,” Mayor Artur Lopes said.
A thousand forces against flame fury
Portugal has been struggling with a severe heat wave in recent days and several large fires have broken out. According to civil defense up to 15,000 hectares of forest and bushland were destroyed. Although the weather conditions have improved recently, about a thousand emergency services were still working on extinguishing six major fires in the north of the country on Monday evening.
arson suspected
A suspect was arrested on Tuesday after an investigation into a forest fire in the western French department of Gironde, which has already destroyed 12,000 hectares of forest. The investigation into the fire in the Landiras municipality had confirmed the suspicion of arson, the public prosecutor of Bordeaux said Monday.
Two major forest fires are currently raging in the Gironde. Together, the fires destroyed some 17,000 hectares of forest, about 32,000 people – residents and tourists – had to be taken to safety. In the second forest fire in La Teste-de-Buch near Arcachon, authorities believe the fire was caused by a van that caught fire.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
