(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Pedrógão Grande, Portugal- More than 1,000 firefighters on Monday battled a giant forest fire that swept through central Portugal at the weekend, killing at least 62 people.
The country was in mourning after the deadliest such disaster in Portugal's recent history, with many victims burnt as they were trapped in their cars.
"The fire has reached a level of human tragedy that we have never seen before," said a visibly moved Prime Minister Antonio Costa, whoannounced three days of mourning from Sunday.
Portugal's national route 236 was transformed into a road of hell as the ferocious blaze ripped through the wooded countryside around the epicentre in Pedrogao Grande.
Although the searing temperatures in Portugal had dropped slightly on Monday, the fire was still raging, spreading to neighbouring regions of Castelo Branco and Coimbra.
Firefighters were continuing a grim search for bodies, with Costa warning on Sunday that the death toll could still rise.
Police chief Almeida Rodrigues blamed dry thunderstorms for the blaze which broke out on Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, saying a tree had been struck by lightning.
"Everything burnt very quickly given the strong winds. The flames passed within two or three kilometres of my house," said local resident Isabel Ferreira (62)
"I knew several of the victims. One of my colleagues lost her mother and her four year old girl as she could not get them out of the back of the car."
The expanse of wooded hills in the area north of Lisbon, which 24 hours before had glowed bright green with eucalyptus plants and pine trees, was gutted by the flames.
A thick layer of white smoke blanketed either side of a motorway for about 20km on Sunday, as blackened trees leaned listlessly over charred soil.
Secretary of State for the Interior Jorge Gomes said 18 of those burned to death had been trapped in their cars engulfed by flames on the road between Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera.
Other bodies were found in houses in isolated areas. At least three villages near Pedrogao Grande were evacuated.
Another 62 people were injured, with five in a critical state including a child and four firefighters.
MENAFN2006201701410000ID1095569658
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.