Wildfire In Portugal Leaves Three People Dead

Authorities in Portugal’s Madeira Islands say three elderly people have died in their burned homes as a wildfire spread into the capital, Funchal.

On mainland Portugal, one person was killed by flames in the central Santarem region as thousands of firefighters struggled to control dozens of forest fires, raging amid a summer heat wave across the country.

Residents described chaotic nighttime scenes, with people fleeing the flames by vehicle at high speed on the wrong side of the road.

The Portuguese Authority of Civil Protection said there are still 12 active fires on continental Portugal, all in the north of the country.

The incident occurred Tuesday, with fires burning for two days on the island.

At least four people have died and 80 people have been hospitalised for burns and smoke inhalation from forest fires on Portugal’s holiday island of Madeira.

Holidaymakers staying at the five-star Choupana Hills Resort and Spa had to be relocated to other hotels after it was destroyed by flames.

Tourism is the mainstay of Madeira’s economy.

Smoke has disrupted flights, stopping planes from leaving the Funchal airport.

Firefighters said steep hills and dense woodland were making it hard to tackle the flames.

Spanish police said they had arrested a 27-year-old German man who, according to a source from the investigation, admitted to accidentally starting the fire. By Wednesday afternoon it had recovered 102 of them, SPAD Funchal said on its Facebook page.

Portuguese Premier Antonio Costa has announced the deployment of military reinforcements from Lisbon and the government has activated the European Union emergency plan, securing assistance from two spanish and one Italian firefighting planes.

The wildfire has since been under control, while weather forecasts for a cooler Wednesday is expected to help fan it out completely.