A wildfire that has torn through the Spanish island of Tenerife, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, is "out of control," local authorities have said, APA reports citing LBC.
The fire has cut a swathe through more than 6,000 acres of land on the Canary Island, which an official said was "on a scale not seen... since records began".
The blaze has not hit any of the 785-square mile island's tourist resorts yet - but more than 7,500 people have been evacuated, out of the island's population of about 978,000.
The 20 mile-wide fire, which broke out on Tuesday, is within 12 miles of the island's capital of Santa Cruz, which has a population of 204,000.
Some 370 firefighters are battling the blaze, while the army and water-bombing planes have also been deployed to try to contain any further spread.
Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canaries, said: "The night has been very tough.
"This is probably the most complicated blaze we’ve had on the Canary Islands – if not ever, at least in the past 40 years," he told a press conference.
Mr Clavijo said people had been evacuated because "burning ash and wind are causing small fires in different areas."
He said the fire was currently "out of control".
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
