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Madeira wildfires: Three dead as flames reach Funchal Madeira wildfires: Three dead as flames reach Funchal
(about 7 hours later)
Three people are now known to have died in wildfires that have advanced upon Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira. Three people have died as wildfires raged in the city of Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
An elderly woman was killed when her home caught fire near the centre of the city. Two other people also died and one was missing, officials said. All three are said to have been elderly people whose homes caught fire. A thousand people have evacuated from homes and hotels.
Two more have been seriously hurt. Fires have also been blazing on the mainland and there are reports of a fourth death in central Portugal.
A thousand people have evacuated from homes and hotels. Several buildings have been destroyed, including the five-star Choupana Hills hotel. The government has triggered the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which enables other European states to help.
Fires have burned for two days on the holiday island off north-west Africa. Italy has already released a Canadair aircraft to join the effort.
Wildfires have also affected the Portuguese mainland in recent days as temperatures climb above 35C. Several arrests have been made of people suspected of illegally starting fires.
There were 109 active fires burning on Wednesday morning, according to Portugal's civil protection agency, with 11 causing particular concern - mainly in the north-west of the mainland. Forest fires first took hold in the Portuguese mainland on Friday and on the island of Madeira, off the north-west African coast, on Monday, following weeks of dry weather and temperatures above 35C.
In Arouca, dozens of people were forced to flee their homes overnight after strong winds fanned the flames of the fires. Some main roads have also been closed. On Tuesday the flames encroached on Funchal, home to some 112,000 permanent residents and capital of an island that attracts more than a million tourists per year.
More than 3,200 emergency workers are battling the flames across the country. "Last night, the fire was 100m [330 feet] away from the hotel and you could hear gas bottles exploding," Ricardo Correia, a manager at the hotel Castanheiro, told AFP news agency. "We evacuated our 140 guests as a precaution," Mr Correia said, explaining they had spent the night in a sports stadium.
In Madeira, smoke disrupted flights at Funchal airport. Firefighters said steep hills and dense woodland were making it difficult to tackle the flames. An iconic hotel on Funchal's outskirts, the five-star Choupana Hills, was gutted by the flames.
On Tuesday night, local media reports said the flames had reached Funchal's historic centre of Sao Pedro, though the worst blazes on Wednesday morning were said to be on the eastern side of the city. Regional President Miguel Albuquerque told a news conference that the fire was still burning on several fronts but was "under control," AFP reported.
The municipal government is said to have told non-essential employees not to come into work in the city of some 112,000 permanent residents. "The situation is complex but not catastrophic," he said.
Madeira, which attracts more than a million visitors a year, has been experiencing high summer temperatures. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa have scheduled a visit to the island on Thursday.
Footage showed plumes of smoke over central Funchal on Tuesday and residents using hosepipes to try to quench fires as burning embers were carried by the wind. On the mainland, firefighters were said to be exhausted after days battling the blazes.
A shopping centre and a hospital were among the buildings evacuated, reports said. In addition to three deaths in Madeira, a fourth death was reported - a man aged between 40 and 50 in the central region of Santarem.
There were 176 active fires burning on Wednesday afternoon, according to Portugal's civil protection agency, with 13 causing particular concern - mainly in the north-west of the mainland:
More than 4,200 emergency workers are battling the flames across the country.
Firefighters are said to have blamed poor forest management for the fires, but President Rebelo de Sousa reportedly insisted the country had been well prepared.
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