Madrid [Spain], September 18: Four people have lost their lives in the 23 forest fires raging in Portugal since Sunday, with the number of injured at 40, the latest count from the civil protection agency ANEPC showed, the Lusa news agency reported on Tuesday.
More than 5,000 firefighters, members of the civil defence and soldiers are fighting the nearly two dozen blazes, mainly in the north and centre of the country, the agency said. A total of 21 firefighting aircraft and helicopters are also said to be in use.
Eight fire-fighting aircraft sent by EU partners in response to a call for help from Lisbon on Monday assisted with the extinguishing work, with two planes each coming from Spain, Italy, France and Greece. The forest fire alarm, which was originally set to expire on Tuesday, has been extended until Thursday evening.
"We will have a hard time in the next few days. We have to prepare for it," warned Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune