At least 22 injured by fires in Portugal

At least 21 people have been slightly injured and one more is seriously injured due to the fires affecting the regions of Leiria and Santarém, in Portugal, according to the latest Civil Protection balance sheet.

The fires broke out on Thursday and are already considered to be under control, but vigilance has been increased due to the risk of reactivation, according to the Portuguese newspaper ‘Diário de Notícias’, which quotes the commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, André Fernandes.

The seriously injured is a firefighter who suffered an exposed wrist fracture. The rest of the injured have “the usual pictures in the fight against forest fires,” Fernandes has indicated. Most of them did not have to be hospitalized.

Portugal is on alert due to forecasts of temperatures of more than 45ºC in some parts of the country, the Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, explained over the weekend. Lisbon has also activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the European Commission has responded by sending two Spanish firefighting planes.