Los forest fires in Portugal They leave seven dead, they declare a state of ‘calamity’: aAt least three of the deceased are firefightersThere are around twenty people injured and seven roads have been closed. A total of 5,000 troops have been deployed, in addition to 1,700 ground and 29 air resources..
Los forest fires that whip Portugal have already claimed the lives of at least seven people, three of them firefighters, in addition to twenty injured and thousands of hectares burned. The Portuguese Government declared this Tuesday the “calamity” situation in the affected municipalities, and does not rule out resorting to the European Union (EU) Solidarity Fund.
The measure has been adopted in an extraordinary council of ministers, and will allow exceptional measures to be adopted to prevent, act or restore normality. The prime minister, Luis Montenegrohas also promised punishment for arsonists. «We are not going to spare efforts in repressive action. “We cannot forgive those who do not have forgiveness,” he declared.
Portugal is suffering from a wave of fires that began this weekend. At the moment There are 65 fires in progresswith a higher incidence in the North and Center regions of the country, which have also caused fifty people to be injured. The authorities have deployed a total of 5,000 personnel, in addition to 1,700 land vehicles and 29 air vehicles.
Seven dead, three of them were firefighters
The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority of Portugal reported this Tuesday the death of three firefighters while fighting the fires rural areas that have devastated the country since the weekend, so the number of fatalities due to the flames they amount to seven.
Commander André Fernandes explained in a press conference in Oeiras that the three victims are two women and a man who died after the vehicle they were in was hit by flames when they were going to fight a fire in Nelas.
For his part, the second national commander of Civil Protection, Mário Silvestre, has confirmed to journalists the death of another person, without offering more details, although local media have reported that it is a civilian.
The Aveiro area, one of the most affected
According to the latest figures published by the Portuguese National Emergency and Civil Protection Authoritythis Tuesday there were 68 fires in progress, 8 in resolution and 27 in conclusion.
The most worrying are found in the central and northern regions of the country, with a special presence in the district of Aveiro. On the ground More than 4,900 employees work1,500 ground means and 19 air means.
Last Monday, two Spanish Canadair amphibious aircraft joined the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism and another six from France, Italy and Greece are expected to join in the next few hours.
The authorities are aware of several homes, rural accommodations and commercial premises that have been affected by the flames in different parts of the country. One of the affected municipalities is Mangualde (Viseu district, bordering Aveiro), which includes several villages that have already been affected by the fire.
As the EFE agency has been able to verify on the ground, The residents of the area have organized together with the firefighters to build blocks against the flames, which have already affected several buildings. Hoe in hand or with hoses from their own homes, dozens of inhabitants participate in human chains of prevention.
“To see if we can protect the part of the houses, animal storage, and all those things,” António, a resident of the town of Mesquitela, in Mangualde, explained to EFE, with the face covered by a mask to protect themselves from the intense smoke, carried by the winds.
On the other hand, João Pedro, a young Brazilian resident of the same town, stated in statements to EFE that he began to feel the arrival of the smoke at dawn: “You couldn’t see it close here but there was a lot of smell at night«, he assured.
Paula Santos is another neighbor concerned about the situation, and already knows friends’ houses that are close to the flames. «It is very worrying to see everything burning around us. “It is difficult, very, very difficult,” she stated.