Through the f lames, a coach trip to remember
THIS is the terrifying moment a tourist bus inches past a wall of fire engulfing a Corsican house. Holidaymakers reached for their camera phones as the coach passed the inferno on the fire- ravaged French island. The dramatic footage was recorded by Florianne Amblard on Monday night when the fire, which has destroyed more than 17,300 acres of countryside, first broke out. Miss Amblard captured images of giant flames lighting up the night sky with sparks drifting across the road as frightened passengers on the bus gasped and cried out in disbelief. The incident took place on the road from Ile rousse to Bastia. residents and tourists were evacuated from the town of Biguglia as firemen fought to protect their properties. More than 4,500 acres of land near the town was torched to a cinder with more than 300 firemen in action aided by dozens of fire engines and firefighting planes. Corsica has been one of the worst affected areas as wildfires triggered by a series of heatwaves sweeping across southern europe. Another fire on the south of the island destroyed 110 hectares of forest around the town of Aleria before being brought under control on Monday. No casualties have been reported so far on Corsica.