Portuguese authorities have confirmed the deaths of three firefighters battling wildfires that have swept the country since last weekend, bringing the death toll from the spread of the flames to seven, including another firefighter and two civilians. The government has declared a fire risk alert across the country until Thursday.
Portugal’s National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority explained that the three victims are two women and a man who died after the combat vehicle they were in was hit by flames while they were going to fight a fire in Nelas, in the central region of the country.
Portugal has the support of countries such as Italy, France and Spain, which on Wednesday assigned a team of 230 firefighters from the Emergency Military Unit (UME) to join the fight against the wave of fires. A source from the Ministry of Internal Administration (Interior) informed EFE that the Spanish troops arrived this morning, around 3 a.m.
Two more Canadair amphibious aircraft from Morocco will join the Portuguese operations in the morning. Six Canadairs from Spain, France and Italy are already operating on the ground, requested through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
This wave of fires has mainly affected the north and centre of the country and, in addition to the seven deaths, has left dozens of people injured and evacuated and thousands of hectares consumed by the fires. Among the infrastructure affected are homes, commercial premises and warehouses.
Commander André Fernandes of Portugal’s National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority said on Tuesday that the situation remains “very complex” and announced that evacuations would continue today and tomorrow.
Currently, 65 fires are in progress, with the greatest incidence in the northern and central regions of the country, which have also caused almost fifty injuries. The “complex of fires” registered in the border area between the district of Aveiro and the metropolitan area of Porto, to the north, is particularly worrying.
Given the severity of the fires, the Portuguese government has also announced that it will declare a disaster in the affected municipalities in order to be able to help those affected more quickly.
Currently, there are more than 5,000 troops on the ground, including some 1,600 land vehicles and 26 air vehicles, according to data from Portugal’s National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.
