Portugal continues to battle a series of forest fires that are ravaging the north and centre of the country, killing at least seven people and destroying thousands of hectares of vegetation. In response to the Iberian country’s request, Morocco will mobilise “up to four Canadair aircraft, which should arrive on site this Wednesday, September 18, 2024“, announced Duarte Costa, president of the Portuguese Civil Protection, to the news channel CNNrelayed by the agency Reuters.
“We are in a critical situation, at the limit of our capacities. That is why we have asked for help from the European mechanism, from Spain and from Morocco.” said the official.
Moroccan Canadairs will come to reinforce the ongoing operations to contain the flames which, since last weekend, have continued to spread. France, Spain, Italy and Greece have also sent water bombing planes to Portugal.
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This Wednesday, September 18, in the middle of the morning, the Portuguese Civil Protection still recorded around forty active fires, mobilizing some 3,500 firefighters, supported by a thousand vehicles and nearly thirty planes or helicopters, according to AFP.
The situation remains particularly complicated in the district of Aveiro (northwest), where fires with a perimeter of 100 kilometers were still “out of control” on the front of the municipality of Agueda, according to Jorge Almeida, mayor of the town. At least 15,000 hectares of vegetation have been destroyed in this region, according to an estimate provided by the European Copernicus Observatory.
