Death Toll In Portugal Wildfires 27 Feared Dead

At least 27 people have died in a series of wildfires in Portugal, the country’s civil protection service says.

More than 50 people have been injured.

A spokeswoman for the agency told reporters that firefighters were still tackling 145 separate fires, 32 of which were serious.

“We can confirm the deaths of 27 people in the districts of Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Viseu and Guarda,” AFP quoted Patricia Gaspar as saying.

Thousands of firefighters are battling the flames, which erupted across north-eastern Portugal and parts of Spain over the weekend after a hot dry summer.

In Spain, at least three people have died.

Conditions were worsened by Hurricane Ophelia, which is approaching Europe’s western coast, bringing strong winds to fan and spread the flames.

The wildfires follow a massive forest blaze in June which killed 64 people and injured more than 130.