ARSON SUSPECTED IN WILDFIRE DISASTER

A “criminal hand” may be behind a wildfire that killed 64 people in central Portugal last weekend, the head of the country’s league of firefighters told local media.

Jaime Marta Soares, president of the Portuguese Firefighters League, said he thinks the lightning strike blamed for igniting the fire came two hours after it broke out.

“I am convinced that the thunderstorm was much later than the start of the fire, and the fire was very large when it started,” Marta Soares told local media.

Since Saturday, more than 1,000 firefighters and more than a dozen water-dropping aircraft were deployed to tackle the blaze that had raged across the central region of Portugal, about 150 kilometres north of Lisbon. Authorities on Wednesday said it has been brought under control.