Thousands of holidaymakers have been
evacuated in southern France, where a raging fire threatened to sweep through
several campsites.
Local authorities in the
Pyrenees-Orientales region said that they evacuated some 3,000 French and other
European holidaymakers from their campsites in Torreilles on Wednesday
afternoon, fearing that the strong winds would spread the fire to where the tourists
were staying.
The fire, ignited as a result of
unknown causes, has already destroyed at least 22 bungalows and burned down
some tents in the area, local official Helene Girardot said.
One retired holidaymaker said, “We
saw smoke... The people from the campsite asked us to leave straight away and
leave our cars behind us.”
No holidaymaker has yet reported to
be injured in the incident, but one firefighter, traveling to the site, was
killed as he lost control of his vehicle due to an engine fault. Three
volunteer firefighters who were with him sustained serious injuries in the
accident and were rushed to the hospital.
A further 17 firefighters suffered
from smoke inhalation and two others were wounded when a gas canister belonging
to a camper exploded as they were trying to contain the flames.
In a separate blaze, over 150
hectares of pine forest were burned in the vicinity of Mailhac and Bize-
Minervois towns in the neighboring region of Aude. The fire caused no human
casualties, nor did it inflict damage on nearby houses. Local authorities,
however, were forces to evacuate over 220 people from the area as a precaution.
-PressTv
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