Firefighters
battle huge blaze near Marbella in southern Spain
Spanish
firefighters are battling a huge wildfire raging near the wealthy
resort of Marbella on the country's Costa del Sol.
BBC,
31
August, 2012
At
least one person has died and thousands more have been evacuated.
The
body of an elderly man was found near Ojen. Rescue workers are
searching for his wife.
Evacuations
were ordered from near Marbella, Ojen and a camp site at Alpujata,
with some 300 British expats among the evacuees.
The
British Consulate in Malaga said they had all now left the evacuation
centre and were staying with friends or had returned to their homes.
Marbella
is famous for its up-market hotels and villas and is a favourite
haunt of wealthy foreigners.
'Horrific'
Hundreds
of firefighters, backed up by emergency military personnel and 31
planes and helicopters, continue to battle a huge blaze that is being
fanned by hot, dry winds.
According
to the AFP news agency, a 12km (seven mile) line of fire has spread
across the high tree tops in the Sierra Negra mountains.
In
addition to the dead man, who was found near his home, five people
have been treated for injuries, some of them serious.
A
40-year-old woman and her two children tried to escape the fire by
hiding in caves in Ojen, a town in the mountains behind Marbella.
They were rescued and taken to hospital where they received treatment
for minor injuries.
Angel
Nozal, the mayor of Mijas, a town between Marbella and Malaga, told
El Pais newspaper: "The fire is horrific, with flames 10 to 15
metres high."
The
Costa del Sol is one of Spain's most popular holiday destinations and
home to a large British expatriate community.
The
British embassy said it was working closely with the Spanish
authorities and consular staff were deployed to assist those
affected.
Much
of Spain's countryside was left tinder-dry this summer by a prolonged
heatwave. There have been major wildfires in northern Catalonia -
near the Pyrenees - and on La Gomera, in the Canary Islands.
Kimberley
Stone, a British woman on holiday with her family in the village of
El Soto, said the fire approached rapidly on Thursday night, forcing
them to flee their apartment.
"As
we drove down the hill we went through burning embers that were
everywhere," she told the BBC.
"Fires
are not uncommon but I have never seen them on this scale before. The
wildfire seemed to dip and then suddenly the wind picked up and we
saw fire coming towards our apartment."
They
drove to El Puerto, spending the night in the car.
Helicopters
are helping some 250 firefighters battle the blaze
Residents
of Ojen described panic as the flames forced them to flee without
time to gather belongings. "We left just in our clothes, our
nerves jangling," said Filomena Gomez.
Evacuees
from Ojen are now staying in a sports hall in Marbella.
Gill
Williams, a British resident of Monda near Marbella, said an
evacuation siren had gone off in the village at 03:00 (01:00 GMT) on
Friday.
"The
wind has picked up and the fires are coming towards Monda. We are
preparing to leave with our dogs, cats and four hens. There has been
fantastic support on social media, with all us expats helping out,"
she told the BBC.
"There
was a shelter for stray dogs and cats - there has been so much
support that saved a lot of the animals."
The
wind speed has dropped since Thursday and the air is more humid, so
there are hopes that the Costa del Sol blaze can be contained soon.
The
British embassy said it understood the fire was largely under control
although an area of mainly uninhabited countryside was still burning.
The
fire started on Thursday afternoon in the Sierra Negra area of Coin,
near Malaga and has now affected an area of some 1,000 hectares
(2,471 acres).
Part
of the AP-7 highway was cut temporarily, but other roads are
unaffected. It is not yet clear how many homes have been damaged or
destroyed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.