Forest inferno
4 children among 61 dead as tragedy hits Portugal
‘Huge wall of flames’
AT LEAST four children are among 61 people killed in devastating forest fires in Portugal.
Many of those died while trapped in their cars as huge flames swept over a road in what prime minister Antonio Costa described as ‘the biggest tragedy’ the country has experienced in years.
A lightning strike in temperatures of up to 104F (40C) is believed to have sparked the initial blaze in the Pedrogao Grande area in central Portugal.
Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes said 59 people died from the flames and suffocating smoke, while another two perished in a traffic accident related to the fires.
There are fears the death toll could rise and another 54 people have been injured, including four firefighters. Two Britons were treated for smoke inhalation and have been discharged from hospital.
Four-year-old Rodrigo Rosario was named as one of the victims yesterday.
His grandmother said his body was found next to a car where his uncle had burned to death inside.
The child’s parents were told of the tragedy while on honeymoon in Cape Verde.
His mother Ana Cardita Rosario had been sending out desperate social media appeals for information on Rodrigo’s whereabouts on Saturday.
Rodrigo, who lived 95 miles away in Lisbon, was staying with his uncle Sidel Belchior, 37, while his parents were away. The other children are believed to include a four-year-old girl known as Bianca, said to have died as she fled with a relative, and two youngsters aged five and six who were trapped in their car.
At least 30 of those killed were in vehicles engulfed by fire on a road between the towns of Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera.
Firefighting crews are having difficulties battling flames, described as ‘very violent’ in at least two of the four fronts.
More than 350 soldiers have joined the 700 firefighters who have been struggling to put out the flames since Saturday.
A huge wall of thick smoke and bright red flames was seen towering over the tops of trees near houses in the region.
Local television showed terrifying images of several people on a road trying to escape the intense smoke that had reduced visibility to a few feet.
A Spanish firefighting aircraft is assisting and France sent three aircraft.
Portugal has declared three days of national mourning and in a tweet yesterday while visiting the region, Mr Costa sent his ‘deepest regret for the victims... and a word of encouragement and strength for all who help combat this scourge’.
The loss of life due to a forest fire is the biggest in living memory in Portugal. Twenty five Portuguese soldiers perished fighting wildfires in 1966.
‘We are most likely facing the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known,’ the prime minister added.
Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande, said: ‘This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions. I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.’ French president Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis expressed their solidarity with Portugal.