Portugal forest fires kill 64 near Coimbra [PHOTO GALLERY]

[Meatpie]

[SUP]A burnt-out car in Pedrógão, Leiria district[/SUP]
At least 64 people have been killed by huge forest fires in central Portugal, with many dying in their cars as they tried to flee the flames.

Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, described the blazes – which have injured dozens more people – as “the greatest tragedy we have seen in recent years in terms of forest fires”, and warned the death toll could rise.

Several hundred firefighters and 160 vehicles were dispatched late on Saturday to tackle the fire, which broke out in the afternoon in the municipality of Pedrógão Grande before spreading fast across several fronts.

The Iberian peninsula is sweltering under a severe heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) in several regions.

About 60 forest fires took hold across Portugal on Saturday night, with 1,700 firefighters battling to put them out.

The secretary of state for internal administration, Jorge Gomes, said 22 people burned to death in their cars after becoming trapped by flames on the road between Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera. Three others died from smoke inhalation.
The Portuguese government said 59 people were injured overall. Eighteen of them had been taken to hospitals in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. Five of them were seriously injured: four firefighters and a child.

Gomes said the flames spread “with great violence”, moving out on four fronts.

 

[metalmachine]

Im reading now about this too...

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[Meatpie]

Thanks for the additional pics. Is the fire close to where you live?

 

[Meatpie]

More horrific news from Portugal as police revealed several children are among the victims. Burning pine trees were crashing down on top of cars according to witness.

Spain is sending firefighters and planes to help Portugal.

 

[metalmachine]

Thanks for the additional pics. Is the fire close to where you live?

No. At lest 300 Km where I live

 

[metalmachine]

More Pics (No Gore)

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[Meatpie]

Thank you, incredible pics. Not far from where you are hope it doesn't spread further.

 

[alexonedeath]

I was listening to the reports on BBC last night. It must have been hell for all those people who were trapped in their vehicles. They found themselves surrounded by an inferno and there was no escape. They burned alive in their cars. What next?

 

[Meatpie]

Are you listening to BBC World Service?

 

[alexonedeath]

I'm not listening at the moment, but I do when it is being broadcast here, every day from 10:00 PM through 5:00 AM. In my estimation, BBC World Service is far superior to the newscasts coming from the U.S.

 

[Meatpie]

In my estimation, BBC World Service is far superior to the newscasts coming from the U.S.

You can listen online at any time. The BBC World Service is extremly popular in Bulgaria as well.

In May 2017 The BBC World Service had a total weekly audience of 269m listeners.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/global-audience-measure

 

[Meatpie]

The youngest victim was identified locally on Sunday as four-year-old Rodrigo Rosario, who perished alongside his uncle Sidel Belchior while driving on a country road near the historic university city of Coimbra. Authorites say many people are still unaccounted for as new photos show scenes of utter devastation.

 

[Meatpie]

BATTLE TO CONTROL THE FIRES CONTINUE • MANY PEOPLE STILL MISSING • BODIES FOUND

More than 1,500 firefighters are still battling to control the fires that have raged across central Portugal since the weekend, killing many people as they tried to flee in their cars and leaving dozens more injured.

Early efforts to alert the public to the deadly wildfires that have killed at least 62 people in Portugal were hindered after the flames destroyed phone lines and communications towers, the country’s prime minister has said.

On Monday the French foreign ministry announced that a French national had died in the fire but gave few details out of respect for the victim’s family.

More than 60 people were injured, with 18 taken to hospitals in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. Five of them, four firefighters and a child, are in a critical condition.

Emergency services have been criticised for not closing the road where 47 of the deaths occurred, while some local residents said they had been left without firefighters for hours as their homes burned.

The wooded hills of Pedrógão Grande, 90 miles (150km) north of Lisbon, were gutted by the fires.

Jorge Gomes, Portugal’s secretary of state for internal administration, said 18 of those burned to death had been trapped in cars engulfed by flames on the road between Figueiró dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pêra. “It is difficult to say if they were fleeing the flames or were taken by surprise,” he said.

Other bodies were found in houses in isolated areas. At least three villages near Pedrógão Grande were evacuated.

 

[alexonedeath]

The youngest victim was identified locally on Sunday as four-year-old Rodrigo Rosario, who perished alongside his uncle Sidel Belchior while driving on a country road near the historic university city of Coimbra.

They both must have been terrified, but Sidel probably put on a brave front right to the end, while trying to save poor little Rodrigo.

 

[Meatpie]

Video from June 18