Dozens of forest fires in Portugal have killed at least seven people, with 14 arrested by police.
The fires affecting Portugal have caused at least seven deaths since September 15, 2024. Several arrests were announced this Thursday, September 19.
Suspected of arson
Portuguese police said they arrested this week 14 people suspected of arson following dozens of forest fires in the country. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro had put forward the theory of arson on Tuesday, promising “repressive action” against crimes “committed in the name of special interests”. According to a case study on “Forest fires in Portugal in 2017”, arson accounted for 36% of the fires which caused the death of 45 people in October 2017.
Several firefighters died
The fires, which destroyed more than 100,000 hectareshave caused the death of at least seven people since September 15. On Tuesday, September 17, 2024 alone, Portugal mourned the loss of three of its firefighters. “We have to regret the death of three firefighters,” two women and one man, trapped by the flames while they were fighting a fire near Nelas, in the Viseu region (north),” declared the national commander of civil protection, André Fernandes, during a press conference.
This Thursday morning, the drop in temperatures suggested a wave of hope from the firefighterswho had managed to contain the fires that had ravaged the Aveiro region.
European aid
Very quickly, Lisbon had launched a call for European help faced with the scale of the fires. France responded quickly, sending from Tuesday two Canadair. Doubled support, since on Wednesday, France announced sending two additional devices.
