Spain, Portugal battle to control wildfires

MADRID • Spain and neighbouring Portugal fought against large wildfires on Tuesday, while three people were badly injured after their train hurtled into a smaller Spanish blaze.

Some 300 firefighters spent a difficult night battling a huge wildfire in south-eastern Spain that has burnt through nearly 10,000 hectares in an area notoriously difficult to access, officials said on Tuesday.

The fire began when lightning hit the Vall de Ebo area in Valencia late last Saturday and has since spread rapidly, fuelled by strong winds, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,500 people, regional authorities said.

"At the moment, we are talking about more than 9,500 hectares burnt with a perimeter of 65 kilometres," regional president Ximo Puig said late on Monday, describing the blaze as absolutely huge.

"It's a very complicated situation... The fire is creating enormous difficulties that are absolutely impossible to tackle with the speed we would like."

Regional interior minister Gabriela Bravo told Antena 3 television some 300 firefighters were battling the flames, backed by 24 planes and helicopters.

Firefighters elsewhere in the region were also battling two other wildfires north of Valencia city, with hundreds of firefighters and at least 10 firefighting planes engaged in the operation, officials said.

Three people were badly wounded after the train they were riding on ran into flames.

In neighbouring Portugal, more than 1,200 firefighters and nine waterbombing aircraft were battling a wildfire that has ravaged the Serra da Estrela national park and razed more than 17,000 hectares since it began on Aug 6.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS