A man who drove through raging wildfires in Portugal says luck was on his side after he filmed himself escaping the deadly blazes ravaging the region. Wildfires have killed at least 33 people across Portugal and Spain as hundreds of blazes were fanned by strong winds caused by a hurricane, authorities said on Monday. At least 29 people in Portugal have died and dozens have been injured, most of them firefighters, during fires raging in central and northern areas of the country. A one-month-old baby is still unaccounted for.

In the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, authorities said that four people had died, two of them trapped in a car, as a result of blazes that were threatening inhabited areas prompting the evacuation of thousands. Authorities in both countries said that the strong winds from Hurricane Ophelia in the Atlantic Ocean and high temperatures fanned the fires.  Investigations were also focusing on human and criminal causes, with political leaders accusing ‘terrorist arsonists’ of starting the blazes. READ MORE

 


Advertisement