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Hundreds battle wildfire in Spain that killed four firefighters
Horta De Sant Joan, Spain (AFP) July 22, 2009 Some 500 people were battling Wednesday a wind-fuelled wildfire in northeastern Spain which claimed the lives of four firefighters and seriously injured two others, Defence Minister Carme Chacon said Wednesday. "We are working against the clock with all the human and material means which are capable of working in an area of difficult access," she told public radio RNE from the site of the blaze in Els Port national park near Tarragona. The four veteran firefighters were killed Tuesday when the direction of the wind suddenly changed, whipping up the blaze and surrounding the men by flames. It was the worst tragedy in Spain involving firefighters battling a wildfire since 11 were killed in 2005 as they fought a blaze that destroyed about 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) of pine forest near the central city of Guadalajara. One of the two firemen is in "very serious condition" in hospital with kidney failure, the head of the health service in Catalonia, Marina Geli, told reporters. The 31-year-old suffered burns to 50 percent of his body. The other injured fireman, aged 36, suffered burns to 75 percent of his body. His condition was evolving "favourably" she added. Local officials said the fire, which erupted on Monday amid scorching temperatures, was still not under control. It has so far ravaged over 800 hectares (1975 acres) of forest and brush and was threatening built-up areas of the municipality of Horta de Sant Joan. Officials evacuated several farmhouses in the area due to risk from the flames. Temperatures were forecast to reach 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in many parts of Spain on Wednesday, raising the risk that more wildfires could break out. Spain lost 155,000 hectares to fire in 2005 and another 188,000 hectares in 2006 but was spared major wildfire damage in the past two years, the exception being the Canary Islands in the Atlantic which suffered major blazes in 2007. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology
Four firefighters die battling Spain blazeMadrid (AFP) July 21, 2009 Four firefighters were killed and two seriously injured Tuesday as they battled a wildfire in northeastern Spain, while several other blazes raged across the country, local officials said. The firefighters appeared to have been surprised by a sudden change in wind direction which revived the blaze that has burned in a mountainous area of the Els Port park near Tarragona in the region of ... read more |
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