The European Union is sending two planes to help Spain tackle raging wildfires, after the country activated an EU disaster assistance mechanism for the first time.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told local media he had requested two water bomber aircraft from the EU to be deployed to the worst-affected areas.
The help comes as a third person died due to injuries sustained battling a wildfire on Thursday morning.
Spain’s state weather agency Aemet has warned that a heatwave will continue until Monday, with temperatures set to exceed 44C in some areas, raising concerns that the wildfires will spread further.
In an interview with Cadena SER on Wednesday, Grande-Marlaska said he had requested two Canadair water bomber aircraft.
“At the moment we don’t need the two Canadair planes urgently but given the weather forecast, we want to have those planes in our national territory as soon as possible so they can be used, should they be necessary,” he said.
“At this time, the government does not rule out requesting more firefighters.”
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Spain, with a further 700 moved out of the western city of Caceres on Wednesday, according to the country’s civil guard.
A volunteer firefighter died in hospital in the north-western region of León on Thursday, after suffering severe burns.
He became the second volunteer to die as a result of a fire in the region and the third person to die in total. Another man died near the capital, Madrid, on Tuesday.
Credit: bbc.com
