Man run over by own bulldozer while fighting Portugal wildfires
Authorities said that after a man was governed by a bulldozer in which he was fighting while fighting fires in Portugal, he died and brought the mortality rate in the country to three.
65 -year -old Mirandela worked for a company hired to fight fires in the northern municipality and reportedly fled after falling from the vehicle while trying to avoid flames.
Portugal has been fighting forest fires since the end of July, and the country’s north and center hit the most difficult.
In the neighboring Spain, the fires killed four people and burned a larger area than Long Island in New York state – but after 16 days of excessive heat, the temperatures begin to cool.
In Greece, France, Türkiye and the Balkans, fires were broken as a heat wave sweeping from Europe.
Meteorologists say that such excesses have become more often and intense due to human -based climate change that causes the weather events to be more frequent and severe.
In Portugal, about 15 people were injured while fighting fires near Sabugal’s central city on Tuesday.
Local media in Spain reports that 40 fires are still active despite the fall of temperatures.
In many parts of Spain, when temperatures exceeded 40C, the most intense temperature has passed now, but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called people to “pay attention to extreme”.
“Critical moments remained, there are difficult hours left.”
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, at least 373,000 hectares were burned in Spain this year.
Duzines were evacuated due to fires.
83 -year -old Isidoro, who was settled in Galicia, told AFP, “We had to escape because the fire was coming from anywhere – everywhere – above us, everywhere, everywhere,” he said.
Spanish officials said that many fires were fired by lightning during dry storms, but in some cases suspected of swaddling.
The Ministry of Interior said that 32 people were arrested and 188 investigations were initiated.
Although weather conditions are currently suitable for forest fires, it can be ignited with barbecue, cigarette stalks or discarded bottles. Causing a forest fire is a criminal offense in Spain, even if it is accidental.
According to EU data, Portugal’s forest fires have burned a land of about 216,000 hectares so far in 2025.
Spain and Portugal activated the European civil protection mechanism, where countries can demand emergency assistance.
Forest fires are widespread in Southern Europe in the summer, but their intensity can usually worse with heat wave conditions.
