Portugal plane crashes whilst putting out fire
A water-bombing plane said to have been flown by a British pilot has crashed while fighting the devastating forest fires which have killed dozens in Portugal.
A loud explosion was heard in the hills where the aircraft reportedly crashed, around six miles from the Pedrogao Grande region where firefighters are battling the wildfire.
The official death toll from the fire currently stands at 64, half of whom have been identified, while another 157 people were injured.
A thick plume of smoke was seen rising from where the plane went down in a fireball, according to Antena 1 public radio.
A water-bombing plane crashed while fighting the devastating forest fires which broke out in Portugal (file photo of a water-bombing plane used to extinguish the fire)
The Canadair plane is said to have come down in the municipality of Pedrogao Grande, where Saturday’s fires began. Pictured: The blaze in Alvaiazere, central Portugal
The official death toll from the fires currently stands at 64, half of whom have been identified, while another 157 people were injured
Initial reports were that the aircraft (file photo from the same fire) that had crashed was Spanish and that it had come down near the village of Louriceira
Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha has reported the pilot flying the firefighting plane was English.
Initial reports were that the aircraft that had crashed was Spanish and that it had come down near the village of Louriceira but the country’s Ministry of Defense said it had not lost a plane.
Maria Jose Andre, from Portugal’s Air Accident Office, said her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area but has no details about the plane, its crew or where exactly the crash happened.
Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.
Spain, France and Italy have sent a total of 19 water bombers to help the operation.
News agency Lusa cited a source from the civil protection agency saying a helicopter was on its way to where the plane had gone down.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa Tuesday led calls to know why a highway now dubbed the ‘road of death’ – where most of the 64 victims perished – had not been blocked off, as questions mounted over the disaster management response.
Maria Jose Andre, from Portugal’s Air Accident Office, said her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the crash area
Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash
Spain, France and Italy have sent a total of 19 water bombers to help the operation
News agency Lusa cited a source from the civil protection agency saying a helicopter was on its way to where the plane had gone down
On Tuesday, 1,150 firefighters and nearly 400 vehicles were still battling the fires, helped from the air by water-bombing planes including some sent from France, Italy and Spain.
Press reports suggested that the fire plan had not been revised for four years and that there had been communications problems while trying to contain the blaze.
Portugal’s Publico newspaper reported that while the fire plan was meant to be revised every two years, in recent years lawmakers had not considered it a priority.
Climate change expert Joao Camargo pointed to the industrial-scale planting of eucalyptus, which is highly inflammable, in comments to Publico.
‘These last decades, we have seen a rise in the frequency of forest fires’ in Portugal, more than in Mediterranean countries, he said.
The emptying out of the countryside as people leave for more urban areas also meant that there were fewer people to clear the brush that has fed the fires.
Around 1,150 firefighters and nearly 400 vehicles were still battling the fires on Tuesday
‘This can’t be nobody’s fault,’ said Helder Amaral of the rightwing opposition People’s Party (CDS) in a Facebook post.
‘It is not enough for the president of the republic to kiss it better. Saying there is nothing to be done is not enough,’ he said.
Nearly 26,000 hectares (64,250 acres) of forest have already been destroyed by the fires, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
As water-bombing planes made regular passes over the flames, there were growing suggestions that forestry practices and outdated emergency planning might have contributed to the disaster.
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