Felipe VI conveys solidarity of Spanish people
King Felipe VI of Spain has conveyed the solidarity of the Spanish people in the face of the ‘tragedy caused by the fires’ in Portugal, and his state’s willingness to ‘reinforce air support’, writes Lusa today.
In a statement published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that he spoke by telephone with King Felipe yesterday.
“The Spanish monarch conveyed to the President of the Republic the full solidarity of the Spanish people in the face of the tragedy caused by the fires that have been raging in the centre of Portugal, and also expressed his willingness to reinforce air and other support from the Spanish state”, reads the note.
So far, two Spanish Canadair aircraft have been mobilised under the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
In addition to these aircraft, 230 Spanish firefighters also arrived in Portugal yesterday evening, an official source from the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Lusa – and within hours they were making a difference in São Pedro do Sul, in Castro Daire. Indeed, one report starts today with “if it wasn’t for the Spanish firefighters, we would have been stuck…”
As of official tallies last night, a total of seven people have died so far in these fires (four of them firefighters) 40 have been injured (news reports point to ‘at least 50’), two seriously, while dozens of homes and businesses have been destroyed.
Meantime, the horror story of how three firefighters died yesterday has become more clear. Initially, the account was that two women firefighters and a male colleague had perished in an incident involving a fire engine. This was not exactly what happened. According to reports, the three were not in the fire engine: they were already actively engaged in firefighting, on a slope in the borough of Tábua, when the flames they were trying to douse started advancing.
“They tried to escape, but the fire was faster, and caught up with them. They did not stand a chance”, firefighting chief Vítor Melo told reporters.
Two other colleagues, who were inside the fire engine, “saved themselves” by abandoning the vehicle and taking refuge in a place untouched by the flames.
When conditions allowed them to return, “there was nothing they could do”, explain reports.
This is the crux of the behaviour of this week’s fires: the ‘completely anomalous scenario’ outlined by meteorologists. A combination of wind/ temperatures and lack of humidity has seen fires go from the initial spark to a full-blown fury in minutes. The amount of energy created by these fires has been ‘off the scale’ in comparison to previous conflagrations, specialists have told news anchors. ND
