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葡萄牙首都里斯本东南200公里的大佩德罗冈山区于6月17日发生一起大型森林火灾，已经导致至少62人死亡，59人受伤。
综合媒体6月18日报道，大火已导致6名消防员受重伤，另有2人下落不明。葡萄牙总理科斯塔（Antonio Costa）表示，这是葡萄牙近年来最为严重的一起森林火灾。
据悉，起火的森林位于首都里斯本东南200公里的大佩德罗冈山区，当地消防人员称，起火时间大约是17日下午15点左右，火势迅速蔓延。目前，约600名消防员正在现场参与灭火，火势目前还未得到完全控制。
据当地政府报道，遇难者大多是当地居民，他们中有不少人是在驾车时准备逃离时被大火困于车内。火灾已经威胁到了周围的居民生活区，多所民宅被烧毁。
葡萄牙火灾已经威胁到周边居民区（图源：新华社）
葡萄牙总理科斯塔称：“这是近年来葡萄牙在森林火灾方面发生的最为严重的悲剧。”他表示，死亡人数有可能增加。当地媒体也报道称，由于一些遭到大火肆虐的地区还无法进入，因此死亡人数或将进一步上升。
目前，起火的原因正在调查中，可能是由于天气炎热干燥或是雷暴所引起。葡萄牙17日多地出现高温，部分地区最高气温突破40摄氏度。火灾发生后，葡萄牙总统德索萨（Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa）已经赶往事发地区视察灾情。此外，邻国西班牙已经派出两架直升机协助葡方展开灭火工作。
到周日傍晚，仍有数百消防人员与200辆消防车在与火势搏斗，在城镇周遭可看到一片受到重创的景象
A huge forest
fire raging since Saturday in central Portugal has killed at least 62
people, most of them dying in their cars as they tried to flee, the
government said on Sunday,
"The
dimension of this fire was such that we don't have memory of such a
human tragedy," Prime Minister Antonio Costa said in Pedrogao Grande,
the mountainous region about 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Lisbon.
Most victims were
caught in their vehicles on the road while fleeing flames that were
destroying their homes. The prime minister said the death toll could
rise as firefighters inspected charred remains of some buildings in
remote villages.
Police
said a lightning strike on a tree probably caused the blaze on Saturday
in a region hit by an intense heat wave and dry, gusty winds, which has
fanned the flames.
The
prime minister said the emergency services acted as fast as they could
but acknowledged that some of the efforts like alerting the population
might have been hindered because the blaze had ruined phone lines and
communications towers.
"What
happened was cables and communications towers were destroyed by the
fire, even their first replacements melted," he said. "But nothing
compromised the firefighting efforts."
Most communications have been restored, but Costa called on residents listen to the radio and heed any official advice.
The
government declared three days of mourning and sent two army battalions
to help the emergency services. The European Union said it would
provide firefighting aircraft. France has offered three planes and Spain
has sent two, authorities said.
Speaking in the Vatican, Pope Francis, who visited Portugal last month, mentioned the victims in his weekly address.
"I
am close to the dear people of Portugal, hit by a devastating fire
which is raging in the forests around Pedrogao Grande, causing many
victims and injuries. Let us pray in silence," he said.
French
President Emmanuel Macron said in a Twitter message: "Solidarity with
Portugal, hit by terrible fires. Our thoughts are with victims. France
makes its aid available to Portugal".
In
one village of Nodeirinho, where 11 residents died, state television
RTP showed burned out cars and blackened houses. Shocked residents said a
whole family that was trying to flee their home in a car had been
caught in "a tornado of flames".
"It
does not seem real, it is out of this world ... It is a real inferno,
we have never seen anything like that," the mayor of Pedrogao Grande
Valdemar Alves told reporters, adding that more than 20 villages had
been affected.
Alongside 62 confirmed dead, another 54 people have been injured and taken to hospitals. Four are in a serious condition.
More than 600 firefighters were still battling the flames on Sunday. Several local highways were shut for safety reasons.
The
authorities said very low smoke clouds prevented helicopters and fire
planes dropping water on the flames efficiently for most of the day.
President
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the site at night and expressed his
condolences. He said that "it was not possible to do more than what has
been done" in prevention and responding to the fire.
Some
local residents said they had been left without firefighters for hours
as their homes burned. Many blamed poor forestry reserve planning and
depopulation of remote villages that left many wooded areas untended.
(Writing by Andrei Khalip; Additional reporting by Axel Bugge, Maya
Nikolayeva in Paris, Crispian Balmer in Rome and Robin Emmott in
Brussels; Editing by Larry King and Edmund Blair)
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