Firefighter dies tackling Spain wildfire: authorities

A firefighter was killed and three others hurt while battling a wildfire Sunday in southeastern Spain, authorities said, the latest casualties in Spain’s sweltering summer of forest blazes.

The victims were tackling a fire that broke out in the early afternoon in Torre de Macanes, a wooded area north of the city of Alicante, regional government official Serafin Castellano told a news conference.

The fire “is still active in an area of adult pines,” a spokeswoman for the regional emergency services told AFP separately on Sunday evening.

Castellano said authorities evacuated a camp where 130 children were staying in the area as a precaution.

Authorities said 18 planes and helicopters were being used and military personnel were mobilised to fight the blaze, the latest in a series of wildfires to strike Spain this summer.

Many volunteer brigades have mobilised to help extinguish fires around the country over recent weeks. Castellano did not say whether Sunday’s victims were volunteers or members of the regular fire service.

Spain is at particular risk of fires this summer after suffering its driest winter in 70 years. Temperatures in some parts have topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days.