‘Portugal weeps’ as deadly fire rages
More than 1,000 firefighters yesterday continued to battle a giant forest fire that swept through central Portugal at the weekend, killing at least 62 people. The country was in mourning after the deadliest such disaster in its recent history, with many victims burnt as they were trapped in their cars around the epicenter in Pedrogao Grande. “Portugal weeps for Pedrogao Grande,” said the newspaper while mainstream Publico’s headline simply read “Why?”
“The fire has reached a level of human tragedy that we have never seen before,” said a visibly moved Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who announced three days of mourning from Sunday. Portugal’s national Route 236 was transformed into a road of hell as the ferocious blaze ripped through the wooded countryside. Although the searing temperatures had dropped slightly yesterday, the fire was still raging, spreading to neighboring regions of Castelo Branco and Coimbra.
Firefighters were also continuing a grim search for bodies, with Costa warning on Sunday that the death toll could still rise. The international community has stepped in to help, with Spain, France and Italy sending waterbombing planes. The European Union has also offered help and Greece said it could send firefighters if needed. “I am shocked and horrified by the many lives claimed by today’s devastating fires,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who comes from Portugal. “The United Nations stands ready to assist in any way possible.”
“Our pain is immense,” said Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. “We feel a sense of injustice because the tragedy has hit those Portuguese of whom one speaks little - those living in an isolated rural zone.”
‘Everything burnt very quickly’
Police chief Almeida Rodrigues blamed dry thunderstorms for the blaze which broke out on Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, ruling out arson. “We found the tree hit by the lightning,” he said. “Everything burnt very quickly given the strong winds. The flames passed within two or three kilometres of my house,” said local resident Isabel Ferreira, 62. “It was really hell. I thought the end of the world had come,” said Maria de Fatima Nunes, a survivor.
The wooded hills in the area north of Lisbon, which 24 hours before had glowed bright green with eucalyptus and pine trees, were gutted by the flames. A thick layer of white smoke blanketed either side of a motorway for about 20 km on Sunday, as blackened trees leaned listlessly over charred soil. A burnt-out car sat outside partly destroyed and abandoned houses, while a few metres away police in face masks surrounded the corpse of a man hidden under a white sheet. —AFP