Rescuers work at the site of forest fire in the area of Pedrogao Grande, central Portugal on June 18, 2017. The number of people killed in the forest fire raging in central Portugal has risen to 62, with 54 others injured, State Secretary of Internal Affairs Ministry Jorge Gomes said Sunday. The fire broke out Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, northeast of Lisbon, and quickly spread to the towns of Figueird dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera in the district of Leiria, where firefighters are still battling the fire. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
LISBON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed in the forest fires raging in central Portugal has risen to 62, with 54 others injured, State Secretary of Internal Affairs Ministry Jorge Gomes said Sunday.
Gomes told reporters that among the dead, two of them are victims of a road accident, while four of the injured are in serious condition.
The Portuguese government has declared the state of emergency in the fire area, and also a three-day national mourning from Sunday and Tuesday.
The fires broke out Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, some 150 km northeast of Lisbon, and quickly spread to the towns of Figueird dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera in the district of Leiria, where firefighters are still battling the fire.
