Europe

Europe

Forest fire in southeast Spain under control

19 August 2011 18:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Fire-fighters in the southeast of Spain have finally brought a forest fire, which forced the evacuation of over 2,000 people on Thursday night, under control, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Around 500 firemen and 350 military personnel, with the help of 12 aircraft and helicopters, finally stopped the spread of the flames in an area known as La Union, in the Community of Murcia, local media reported on Friday.

La Union is surrounded by an area of ecological interest and close to the city of Cartegena.

The flames, which were provoked deliberately according to early investigations, began at around 22:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Thursday night and spread rapidly due to the high temperatures and the dry state of the undergrowth in the area.

The authorities evacuated some 2,000 inhabitants of the nearby village of Portman. The fact that the fire occurred in an old mining area served to complicate the work of the firefighters, who were unable to use helicopters to fight the flames until Friday morning.

With the flames under control the inhabitants of Portman have now been allowed back to their homes, while the authorities work to extinguish the last of the flames and begin the task of finding those responsible.